Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Deciding Whether to Give Blood

Yesterday's Total Calorie Intake: 1962

It is 8 weeks since I last gave blood. Which means, this would have been the week that I donated again. I'm not sure why, but I started to think about it more this week. I had pretty much decided to not give blood again until after the marathon, but given where I am now, I don't think that giving blood will put me back too much. So...I have a decision to make - to give, or not to give?

My training is going great right now. My easy runs are about a minute per mile faster than 8 weeks ago. I'm running longer distances without too many issues or soreness. I have not had any injuries so far.

I'm 8 weeks away from the marathon right now, so I don't see donating blood now impacting my performance on May 4.

This is a pretty big week - 32 total miles with a 16 mile long run - however, next week is another "stepback" week with only a 12 mile long run. So, I'll likely schedule a blood donation for Monday next week. I'll run Monday morning and make Tuesday a rest day. Perhaps I'll even rest on Wednesday as well (or make it a very easy and shorter run than scheduled). I'll do my weekly "longer" run on Thursday instead of Wednesday. Then I'll be back on track.

3 comments:

Obi-Run Kenobi said...

I would vote to give blood, if for no other reason than you can.

I have a heart ayrythmia (there's no way that's spelled correctly!) and take drugs every day to regulate it. As a result, I can never give blood or plasma ever, which sucks, as I don't mind the needles, etc. But then again, I don't think most people's systems would respond well to the drugs in my system, either!

So, I say go for it because you've got 2 months until the marathon and your body will replace the lost blood in a day or two anyway. Plus you're in good shape so you won't feel it as much.

tootie said...

That's awesome that you're doing so well with your training - and that you'll give blood, too!

It's definitely an inspiration for me, as I start my "real" marathon training in just a few months.

Mike Fox said...

Done!

I've set up my appointment to give blood on Monday of next week.

The other big drawback is that I won't be able to drink too much Guinness on St. Patty's Day :-( It's a big sacrifice, I know!