Supporting running in the metro Richmond area
Giving blood and training/racing
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Hagan on -
Definitely donate the day before a rest day. I was able to do a long, slow run 3 days later without trouble (risk of dehydration is probably greater.) Any workout that puts you at or over your aerobic threshold will suffer after donating. I have certain workouts that I repeat and can compare apples to apples. At one week I'm worthless, at two weeks I am starting to come back and at three weeks I can match or exceed a pre-donation workout. So, for me, it takes three weeks. Going into a race, I want to look back at at least two weeks of good running so I make sure my donation is at least five weeks before a race.
What I can't answer is do I suffer for three weeks of reduced speed in my workouts or am I better for having three free weeks of "altitude" training?
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Permalink Reply by Chase on -
WEEKS? What on earth are you donating, bone marrow? I give blood in the morning and do a slow run that afternoon. By the next day I don't think that I've given it a second thought. How long does it take ones body to replace that pint?
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Permalink Reply by Chris Harnish on -
About 3 weeks.
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Permalink Reply by Malcolm Will on -
Ron,
Earlier this year I did a 'double-red' donation and it had a marked effect on my running. The first two weeks were horrible, it took around 5-6 weeks to get back to normal. I've given a single since, and I the effects were similar to what David described.
Don't let them talk you into the double.
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Permalink Reply by David Hagan on
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Individual results may vary. Others thought my 3 weeks sounded long and 2 was more realistic. Unfortunately, it is hard to do a good control in this experiment. Perhaps a volunteer will do an all-out mile 2 days before donating and then repeat after at 3 days, 8 days, 13 days,... until pre donation time can be matched.
And for reference, in the weeks before i donated bone marrow i also donated 2 pints of blood (for myself). One of those was contaminated and destroyed so I only got 1 back. It was 8 weeks before I was running well (relatively) again.
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Permalink Reply by Ron Hilicki on -
Thanks for the comments. I gave blood Monday and had a rough week, but it's been hard to sort out root cause between that, hot weather and lots of miles from marathon training. I suspect dehydration was main culprit and my conclusion is the blood draw contributed.
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Permalink Reply by Alison Jones-Nassar on -
I'm glad to read this discussion, I gave a double and it really wiped me out for a couple of weeks at least! I thought I was just being a wuss.... :+)
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Permalink Reply by Myron Kemp on -
It effects me more in the summer than it does in the winter... I now no longer donate in the summer.
I can donate, and go for an easy run like someone mentioned - shortly after donating. BUT - anything long and or intense seems like my ability to recover kind of sucks.
I think this is because even though your blood volume regulates quickly after donation, you are missing some red cells so the oxygen isn't able to get carried to your muscles as quickly. I'm hypothesizing - I'm not a doctor/researcher - but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.
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Permalink Reply by Marathon Mikey on -
I've been donating blood for 15 years. For most of that time, I've donated platelets through a process call apheresis. This is where the phlebotomist (person who draws the blood) sticks the donor with the needle like any regular whole blood donation, but in lieu of the blood going directly into a bag, it is spun through a centrifuge separating the blood components (platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma) first. The machine magically knows what to take (all components of blood have a specific weight), and the rest is pumped back into your body. Platelets only take 2-3 days to regenerate in the body. Outside of possible dehydration or just being tired, there are no real ill effects on running by donating platelets. The upside of donating platelets is that the blood bank is collecting 4-8 times the amount of platelets when compared to a whole blood donation. Platelets are used for treating patients with blood-related disorders like Leukemia.
Whole blood and red blood cell (RBC) donations are different. Since RBCs carry oxygen, anytime you remove them from your body, you will have less oxygen available in your blood. This will negatively impact your performance, especially for endurance athletes. It takes up to 8 weeks for RBCs to regenerate, and that's why you can't donate whole blood or RBCs any sooner than that.
If you are training for a race, especially a half or full marathon, and you want to be competitive, you'll want to stay away from donating RBCs or whole blood close to your race (ask me how I know.) I no longer donate RBCs b/c I'm almost always in training year-round. But I do donate platelets every 3-4 weeks. And as one person suggested, doing it before an off day (after your run) is the ideal time.
For more info on donating blood, contact Virginia Blood Services at www.vablood.org.
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Permalink Reply by Pam Drew on -
If you do a double red blood cell donation, it's 112 days for your body to replace all the lost blood cells. 72 days for a standard whole blood. Use common sense as Marathon Mikey said, and don't donate right before your race. Donate right after your race instead!
I've never had a need for me or my family for blood, but I've donated for years as did my mom. I'd hate to think about a fellow RRRC runner hit by a car and needing blood to save her life, or my kid needing it. What if it's YOU? I'd give up a quality training run to save a life or three.
End PSA, stepping off the soapbox!
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Permalink Reply by Stan on -
I got blood drawn on a Friday and Sat. morn I swam 2 mi. and ran 14 mi. Sun Biked 50 mi. all easy
by Tues. morn swim I could only swim 1/2 mi. I was exhausted, I'm used to being tired but then recover quickly
but now I am exhausted. For 4 days now I'm fighting exhaustion even now that I'm barely working out.
It has been difficult finding much info about anything more than, it takes about 2 weeks to recover.
I fear having cronic fatigue so therefore I will be cutting down my work load for now or until I feel better.
Hopefully in another week. Any info would be appreciated.
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Permalink Reply by Stan on
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It has been one week since I gave blood and I am just barely starting to feel better about 70%. I think at this rate I will be at close to full work mode by the end of this coming week. I agree with someone who mentioned that you do get your volume back quickly however you don't get your red blood cells back to normal for awhile for your oxygen needs (everyone is different). I have started eating Iron Rich foods which there are many depending on your nutritional needs. I have also started taking alittle extra Vitamin B. Will it work? I don't know for sure but so far with the right amount of sleep and or rest and the right nutrition and tweaking my workouts, it seems to be working. I will do a follow up in a week.
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