Went to give blood and was turned away, need an appointment. Not what they said when I phoned.
Anyway racing is underway soon.
The next time I can give is two days before the Gent Wevelgem ride.
Then it's racing and training every week.
So giving blood and giving it some one and a half days later?
You'll feel it - think of it as the reverse of blood doping and you are not going to be far off.
e.g. I did the local Saturday training ride a couple of days after donating last spring. I got a push up a hill from someone I'd easily dropped the week before.
So you need to figure out if that matters for the G-W ride - sounds like it isn't a race ...
So as long as you give it early season and get it back a month or so later it should be fine 😆
I did that two years ago in a 4th cat race. Donated Thursday, raced Saturday. Was dropped after half the race. I still use the speed plot to show students the effects of negative blood dopage!
I'm not a blood donor at the moment (over 30 donations to date). Racing and donating don't really go - unless you are getting it back again 😉
The only time I tried (Thetford Winter Series) I bailed after the second lap. Feels like you've become suddenly very slow and useless. Hills are best avoided, or indeed any kind of upward slope.
Hard exercise these days is not recommended, however i used to go straight from blood doning to a circuit session, never really noticed, that was some years ago mind...
As said you will be doing the opposite of doping. You will be fine but if the race is important to you I'd skip the blood donation.
40+ donations here. I reckon it takes a week to fully recover. Feels like a lack of fitness for a few days afterwards.
Was advised not to go to Crossfit for the WOD I had booked that night after the last time I donated and the blood people say that they won't take you as a donor again if you pass out doing something stupid after doning.
I waited until after the weekend before I went back and I still felt slow and rubbish until a week had gone by.
Takes two weeks if recent studies are to be believed. IMO it takes longer, and I suffer a week of being 15% down on top speed while feeling like crap off the bike and unable to sleep.
Iron supplements helped the last time.
They've not had blood from me for nearly a year now because the local centre only ever schedules Friday sessions, and I'm invariably working on the Saturday.
I also have a physical job, I do quite literally sometimes have to get my back into it. Not sounding so great now 🙁