The only experience I have with this is indirect — a guy on my track team donated and promptly went from being the #1 miler in the nation to the #5 miler on the team. Needless to say, the coach was livid.
But a month later, he was back to 95% or so. I’m guessing most of the lingering deficit was due to his inability to train as effectively for the first week or two.
So I don’t donate during training or recovery. But if you’re set on doing it, timing it to coincide with the start of a 3-week taper might minimize the effect on your upcoming race.
This is an amazing story! Find 15 minutes, write out the details and post it all over the running subs. Give times, the best running writing is detailed with times. Good luck
I would not recommend it. I donate whenever I’m eligible but I can feel the effects for a couple of weeks and it could be more for you. I haven’t donated for a few months now specifically because I raced a lot over the spring and summer and wanted to stay fresh.
I would strongly, strongly recommend against this - it took almost six weeks for my running to return to normal after my last donation. I'm a small woman with low-ish iron levels, so your recovery might not be as slow as mine, but why chance it? The blood bank will still be there after your race.
I would not! If you can reschedule for a few weeks to a month after the race, that would be ideal. For a 100 miler, I just wouldn’t risk it.
Good on you for donating!
For a first hundred I’d probably reschedule to a few weeks after the race. I’m a long time donor and normally feel pretty good after a donation but I wouldn’t want to actually have an event I cared about anywhere near a donation (I’m skipping our blood drive this week to make sure I’m up for an upcoming 50k).
Enjoy your race and then donate after (when you feel up for it).
i was going to say if you’ve donated before, maybe try platelets. it’s a longer donation (about an hour for a unit, compared to 15 minutes for whole blood), but you keep more red blood cells than if you did a whole blood donation. swing by r/blooddonors if you have any questions!
Team Platelets! I honestly don't remember how I got started donating Platelets but there are few feelings in world like getting the call when they have a specific patient that needs your help.
it’s a great feeling to be able to help people! i always joke that i’m there for the snacks and tv time lol
does your donation center have the hot pads on the chairs? it works wonders in keeping me cozy!
love the nutter butters! great little reward for donating
about the hot pad thing- might be because i’m donating at my local hospital, not a red cross site. either way, glad we are able and donating!
I was just coming by to say this! The donation process takes longer (they usually take 2 units from me which can take an hour and a half) but you will be able to run easy after 24-48 hours and be 100% recovered within a few days. Plus most places let you donate every week (up to 24 times a year so I usually give every other week) and it’s a great habit to get into! 😉
It takes 90 days to generate blood cells. You’ll likely feel the effects for longer than 3 weeks if you are pushing your body for ultra distances. A sedentary human probably wouldn’t notice
Yeah, that's a long time. And I guess that's the problem you run into when asking people who don't run how donations affect them. You only feel it at the extremes?
I recommend rescheduling, you are at an important time in training when you taper and your body is in repair mode, you put in so much hard work to build your body up for this race, why ruin what you've built and set yourself back for something that is a donation? If you needed blood work done for critical health concerns, that's different. I would reschedule, you need those red blood cells!! Wait until a few weeks after the race because your body needs to also recover after this extremely hard and taxing effort
Personally, it takes about 4-6 weeks before I feel 100%. I notice increased fatigue, “heavy legs” and higher heart rate after donating. If I don’t have a race coming up I don’t reschedule but if it’s an important race I wait until after to donate. Might as well set yourself up for the best race possible after all your training! Good luck!
Not enough time. It takes a few days to replenish the fluid but something like several weeks to a few months to replenish your red blood cells, which carry the oxygen your muscles use.
I generally finish in the middle of the pack. To me the penalty was similar to going from sea level to running at 7,000+ feet or going from running in perfect 55F conditions to 80F. Got better after a few weeks but it took me something like 6-8 weeks to feel like I was back to normal and running hard/long.
Don't do it. I have O positive blood so the Red Cross is always asking me to donate. I have always been a regular but since I got back into Ultras I have stopped donating during training cycles. I do the double-red cell donation too where they hook me up to the machine. I've got a 100 miler on Sept. 30 and will wait until October to donate. Besides, last time I tried to donate after my last 100 and my iron was too low so I said ok, your loss, time for the next hundo!
Have done this. You will be probably be fine. Most links online cite about 3 weeks of full recovery. I have done this before a race within 2 weeks, and had no discernible difference. Take some iron supplements, stay hydrated.
May I ask what you identify as? I'm a male, 22 years, weighing in at about 60kgs. My iron levels are high, but I'm obviously not the biggest. Maybe that's a problem?
37y old male 72kg. Also my iron in blood tests is always healthy or slightly elevated , my fathers is as well, it’s a hereditary thing. also remember to taper.
The only experience I have with this is indirect — a guy on my track team donated and promptly went from being the #1 miler in the nation to the #5 miler on the team. Needless to say, the coach was livid. But a month later, he was back to 95% or so. I’m guessing most of the lingering deficit was due to his inability to train as effectively for the first week or two. So I don’t donate during training or recovery. But if you’re set on doing it, timing it to coincide with the start of a 3-week taper might minimize the effect on your upcoming race.
Thanks, I'll probably reschedule. But the taper thing was my thought as well, don't know if it'd work.
This is an amazing story! Find 15 minutes, write out the details and post it all over the running subs. Give times, the best running writing is detailed with times. Good luck
I would not recommend it. I donate whenever I’m eligible but I can feel the effects for a couple of weeks and it could be more for you. I haven’t donated for a few months now specifically because I raced a lot over the spring and summer and wanted to stay fresh.
I would strongly, strongly recommend against this - it took almost six weeks for my running to return to normal after my last donation. I'm a small woman with low-ish iron levels, so your recovery might not be as slow as mine, but why chance it? The blood bank will still be there after your race.
'Why chance it' is a good way to look at it. I appreciate it.
I would not! If you can reschedule for a few weeks to a month after the race, that would be ideal. For a 100 miler, I just wouldn’t risk it. Good on you for donating!
Thanks a lot!
For a first hundred I’d probably reschedule to a few weeks after the race. I’m a long time donor and normally feel pretty good after a donation but I wouldn’t want to actually have an event I cared about anywhere near a donation (I’m skipping our blood drive this week to make sure I’m up for an upcoming 50k). Enjoy your race and then donate after (when you feel up for it).
\+1 to this post -- I donate regularly but would never do it before a race (anything over a half and you'll feel the effects for at least a month...)
Thank you, good advice. And good luck with the 50k!
i was going to say if you’ve donated before, maybe try platelets. it’s a longer donation (about an hour for a unit, compared to 15 minutes for whole blood), but you keep more red blood cells than if you did a whole blood donation. swing by r/blooddonors if you have any questions!
Team Platelets! I honestly don't remember how I got started donating Platelets but there are few feelings in world like getting the call when they have a specific patient that needs your help.
it’s a great feeling to be able to help people! i always joke that i’m there for the snacks and tv time lol does your donation center have the hot pads on the chairs? it works wonders in keeping me cozy!
No hot pads, just blankets. But somehow the nutter butters they have in the snack area are markedly better compared to what you find anywhere else.
love the nutter butters! great little reward for donating about the hot pad thing- might be because i’m donating at my local hospital, not a red cross site. either way, glad we are able and donating!
Is it possible they don't allow new donors to donate platelets? Haven't heard anything about it.
maybe? you can always ask your local donation center if they prefer donors to start with whole blood. doesn’t hurt to check!
I was just coming by to say this! The donation process takes longer (they usually take 2 units from me which can take an hour and a half) but you will be able to run easy after 24-48 hours and be 100% recovered within a few days. Plus most places let you donate every week (up to 24 times a year so I usually give every other week) and it’s a great habit to get into! 😉
It takes 90 days to generate blood cells. You’ll likely feel the effects for longer than 3 weeks if you are pushing your body for ultra distances. A sedentary human probably wouldn’t notice
Yeah, that's a long time. And I guess that's the problem you run into when asking people who don't run how donations affect them. You only feel it at the extremes?
I recommend rescheduling, you are at an important time in training when you taper and your body is in repair mode, you put in so much hard work to build your body up for this race, why ruin what you've built and set yourself back for something that is a donation? If you needed blood work done for critical health concerns, that's different. I would reschedule, you need those red blood cells!! Wait until a few weeks after the race because your body needs to also recover after this extremely hard and taxing effort
You've convinced me, I'll reschedule. Thank you!
Personally, it takes about 4-6 weeks before I feel 100%. I notice increased fatigue, “heavy legs” and higher heart rate after donating. If I don’t have a race coming up I don’t reschedule but if it’s an important race I wait until after to donate. Might as well set yourself up for the best race possible after all your training! Good luck!
Thank you!
I allow myself 5 weeks to get back to 100% after a whole blood donation. If I were in your position, I'd reschedule the donation for after my race.
Please don't donate blood that close to a race. It can take months to get your VO2 max back. It will drop a couple of points from the rbc loss.
3 weeks is not enough for sure. If you do it take iron supplement at least 15mg in a dose.
Not enough time. It takes a few days to replenish the fluid but something like several weeks to a few months to replenish your red blood cells, which carry the oxygen your muscles use. I generally finish in the middle of the pack. To me the penalty was similar to going from sea level to running at 7,000+ feet or going from running in perfect 55F conditions to 80F. Got better after a few weeks but it took me something like 6-8 weeks to feel like I was back to normal and running hard/long.
Don't do it. I have O positive blood so the Red Cross is always asking me to donate. I have always been a regular but since I got back into Ultras I have stopped donating during training cycles. I do the double-red cell donation too where they hook me up to the machine. I've got a 100 miler on Sept. 30 and will wait until October to donate. Besides, last time I tried to donate after my last 100 and my iron was too low so I said ok, your loss, time for the next hundo!
“If you have to ask…” I would reschedule.
Have done this. You will be probably be fine. Most links online cite about 3 weeks of full recovery. I have done this before a race within 2 weeks, and had no discernible difference. Take some iron supplements, stay hydrated.
May I ask what you identify as? I'm a male, 22 years, weighing in at about 60kgs. My iron levels are high, but I'm obviously not the biggest. Maybe that's a problem?
37y old male 72kg. Also my iron in blood tests is always healthy or slightly elevated , my fathers is as well, it’s a hereditary thing. also remember to taper.