The local Red Cross is always hounding me for my blood (I have a type that is particularly desirable), so I go in every couple of months or so go give. I know you are immediately affected after giving blood, so I never run or bike or play tennis or whatever on the day I give, but now that I am starting to monitor my cycling progress more, I was wondering, how will this affect my riding over the next few weeks, if any? I mean, even once I recover, get and my blood sugar and fluids back up, and am okay for physical activities, I am still missing a pints worth of red blood cells. I weigh 145, so a pint is pretty significant.
This certainly isn't going to stop me from giving, but I am going in to give today and I was wondering if I can expect a performance decrease on a longer ride at the end of the week.
The local Red Cross is always hounding me for my blood (I have a type that is particularly desirable), so I go in every couple of months or so go give. I know you are immediately affected after giving blood, so I never run or bike or play tennis or whatever on the day I give, but now that I am starting to monitor my cycling progress more, I was wondering, how will this affect my riding over the next few weeks, if any? I mean, even once I recover, get and my blood sugar and fluids back up, and am okay for physical activities, I am still missing a pints worth of red blood cells. I weigh 145, so a pint is pretty significant.
This certainly isn't going to stop me from giving, but I am going in to give today and I was wondering if I can expect a performance decrease on a longer ride at the end of the week.
If you race and therefore, maximal performance is an issue for you, it likely takes around 6 weeks to return to normal. If you don't race, then you'll most likely be training normally within a week (just have an easy few days after donating, and listen to their nutrition advice).
If you race and therefore, maximal performance is an issue for you, it likely takes around 6 weeks to return to normal. If you don't race, then you'll most likely be training normally within a week (just have an easy few days after donating, and listen to their nutrition advice).
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Okay, thanks, they don't offer any nutrition advice other than drinking extra water and what to do if problems occur, but that six week figure is good to know, and no, I don't race, so it probably won't affect me at all as long as as I wait a few days before a long ride.
