To runners who donated blood: How much slower did you got as a result?

For me it would have been 10-12 second per mile at race pace I assume (about 11:20 2 mile) but I cant say for sure, I wasnt in shape at that time, so I did not have competitions.

Assumption based on heart rate and moderate intervalls.

I didn't think about it until I hit the trail for my evening run. Several minutes in I felt a little light headed and dizzy, and my pace was about 10 seconds slower than normal. Still finished an eight miler just fine. A day later I didn't notice anything,

I feel a little slower two weeks after a blood donation.

I usually give blood twice a year and always AFTER a goal race.

During my XC season of my senior year I was injured, so it didn't matter how fast I ran. My coach always told us every year not to donate blood because we would be much slower and if we pushed too hard we could pass out during a 5K. I was the second fastest runner on my team, so my coach was hoping I would make a recovery by the time Counties rolled around, so I jogged every race in about 20 minutes so I would be eligible to race in Counties. I didn't tell my coach that I donated a pint of blood and had a 5K the same day. I knew it would take a few weeks to replenish the blood I had lost and that I would race like carp, but I figured some things mattered more than running.

The gun went off and I went at my usual pace to jog it in at a JV level race. I am not kidding I was gassed at 400m in. I was sucking air the whole time just to come through in over 22 minutes. I don't even go that slow on my easy recovery days let alone a race. Not only that, but apparently it takes a few weeks for that blood to be replenished for a normal person, but for a runner, it will take 2-3 months for you to be fully recovered.

If you care about your running, don't donate in season.

awful wrote:

The gun went off and I went at my usual pace to jog it in at a JV level race. I am not kidding I was gassed at 400m in. I was sucking air the whole time just to come through in over 22 minutes. I don't even go that slow on my easy recovery days let alone a race. Not only that, but apparently it takes a few weeks for that blood to be replenished for a normal person, but for a runner, it will take 2-3 months for you to be fully recovered.

If you care about your running, don't donate in season.

It takes 24 hours to replenish the blood (plasma volume), but for your hemoglobin value to return to the normal value it will take 2-4 weeks. The main difference is less oxygen supply to the muscles.

In addition, iron levels will be lower and to get them back can take even longer, up to 2 months.

If you are afraid now every time you get a cut or injury that your performance will suffer, don't worry. The amount of blood loss on a normal trail running fall on the knee, or during a lactate threshold test is so small, that it will not affect your performance at all. With donating they take half a liter, which is a huge amount. If you want to donate, don't do it in race season but after!

I donated last summer and will not do so again while training (as bad as I feel for saying that). It had a pretty significant impact on me, lingering for weeks and just generally making me feel fatigued. Could not hit fast paces.

I was usually about 7.3% slower after donating. Only would do at the end of the season after my big race.

redcrossdropout wrote:

I was usually about 7.3% slower after donating. Only would do at the end of the season after my big race.

So if I received blood before a big race I would become 7.3% faster?

It will take you 60% less alcohol to get so plowed you can't walk. Skip lunch and dinner and you take it down to 80% less alcohol required.