Reverse blood doping

[consularrider]

The Red Cross won’t let me donate blood anymore since I was living in London from 1991 to 1993 (think mad cow scare). I had been a twice a year donor before that.

Back on topic. I remember back in the day, that I would have to avoid any strenuous exercise for a couple of days after I donated. That meant taking it easy on running, swimming, cycling, soccer, tennis, racquette ball, or squash. I was much more active when I was a young wippersnapper. Of course back then, I didn’t monitor things like my heart rate or blood pressure.

[KS1G]

Not elite here either, and I’ve thought several times about biking 8-9 miles to a Sunday morning blood drive, donate, and ride home, but have resisted the temptation to do so. As a more recent data point, I donated this past Tuesday, was fine that evening, and was on a moderate-pace sunrise ride the following morning. Ride felt faster than it really was and I felt more tired afterwards than usual. So should have gone easier or not at all. Yesterday was an off day, and felt more like my usual self during this morning’s ride. So I’d time donations for recovery and off weeks and definitely not a week or 2 before an important event.

[thecyclingeconomist]

I donated and went out on a 50 mile club ride two days later (this was in CA, and is a 25 mile ride out into a stiff headwind near Palm Springs). I bonked so hard that I had to stop at the half-way point and call for a ride… brutal.

So, commuting just takes a bit longer, but I keep from doing anything long/rough for a week after.

[acc]

Donating blood is a life affirming act. But yeah, the aftereffects can hit hard. And size matters. Smaller people, seem to be affected more. Probably has to do with volume capacity. I can be short of breath and a little on the tachycardic side for several days afterwards.

[ronwalf]

@thecyclingeconomist 31049 wrote:

So, commuting just takes a bit longer, but I keep from doing anything long/rough for a week after.

I think this is a good take-away point. I took the just-after commute slow, but pushed hard the rest of the week. There’s probably not much healthy in that.

@acc 31050 wrote:

And size matters. Smaller people, seem to be affected more.

Off topic: Last time the Red Cross called, my wife informed them that she was under their weight limit. They asked if they could call back after Christmas.

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