Are there any clear symptoms for a runner being anemic? How much would this affect one's racing performance? Should some runners I know get tested just to be safe?
Are there any clear symptoms for a runner being anemic? How much would this affect one's racing performance? Should some runners I know get tested just to be safe?
I'm sure it depends on what kind and how severe it is. I had severe iron deficiency anemia when I was a junior in high school and you couldn't tell for months. I developed it over xc and the only thing that lead to something being wrong was that I was getting slow. Then over the winter my color started to fade and I lost a lot of pigment in my skin. I could no longer make it up hills without having to rest and finally my parents and coach made me go get a check up. Sure enough my hemoglobin was reduced by 50% and my ferritin level (stored iron) was 1 out of a normal ~200. I basically used up any iron that came into my body right away. It was ridiculous. So to make a long answer short, there's no reason not to get the athletes tested. Its a simple blood test that will give you results in a day or few. Should be covered by insurance as well...
pale skin. a lof of times you can be just a little anemic and you do workouts fine -but then in races you just "shut-off" and start slowing down all of a sudden. You can feel tired all the time, all day. When my ferritin was as high as 40 my performances were still suffering a great deal. I'd say it added on a good 45 seconds to my 5k. You should get it checked, maybe also do a complete blood cell count (hemoglobin, RBC, WBC, etc).
What type of iron suppliments are best?
treadmill wrote:
pale skin. a lof of times you can be just a little anemic and you do workouts fine -but then in races you just "shut-off" and start slowing down all of a sudden. You can feel tired all the time, all day. When my ferritin was as high as 40 my performances were still suffering a great deal. I'd say it added on a good 45 seconds to my 5k. You should get it checked, maybe also do a complete blood cell count (hemoglobin, RBC, WBC, etc).
MC Hasbeen wrote:
What type of iron suppliments are best?
Treadmill's description is pretty much EXACTLY how I felt this season minus the pale skin and I didnt get a blood test. I just bought a liquid Iron supplement at Vitamin Cottage. 3 days (6 doses later) I ran 40 seconds faster for 8000 during a 6 mile tempo than I had run all year at sea level. Check out the thread I posted asking how long it will take for iron to take full effect.