Donating Blood During Training

[Chelsi]

I am a regular blood donator. It's something I feel is important, so I try to go in as frequently as I can. I struggle, however, with long runs after donating. My legs feel weaker and hurt more. I often will get light-headed if I'm pushing at all. I hate to feel that way, but I also would like to donate. Has anyone else had the same experience? If so, any tips on how to get back to normal faster or deal with the effects of donating? I would appreciate any help. Thanks!

[Jon Allen]

Don't know if there are any quick recoveries.  Drink a lot and don't plan on any hard workouts for a few days, or races for a few weeks.

[Calvin]

Start donating platelets.  You can donate more often than with whole blood, affect even more lives, and you likely won't feel any impact on your running.

I've done both.  Blood donation wipes out my running performance for a couple or a few days.  I would usually just not donate during important training periods.  But i always felt guilty about passing up the opportunity.

[Chelsi]

Donating platelets sounds like a good solution. I'll have to see if they do that at my local donor center. Thanks!

[Scott]

Great Question!!  I too have wondered that and I appreciate reading the responses!

[Jennifer Schmidt]

I used to donate blood fairly often before I got into running marathons.  My recommendation would be just to make sure that you have a good couple of days to recover after giving.