Blood Donation: Giving Away My Best?

Tuesday evening I donated blood. I do this every 3 months when the Red Cross passes through town.
Nothing shocking here, the aftermath however…

Usually I notice nothing after a donation, this time it was horrible.
Wednesday evening I went running and boy was it horrible…
I averaged at about 20s slower per km, felt faint and developed a headache.

Yesterday I had a recovery run planned, but my legs felt so rubbery I stayed home.

The combination of donating blood and limiting my calorie intake after my ski trip made my sugar level drop I think.
Every time I stood up too fast or picked something (or someone :-)) up it went black before my eyes.

So yesterday I ate … a lot and consistently throughout the day. Happy to say I felt a lot better this morning and hopefully this means that I can go through with my run of tomorrow.

The distance isn’t adding as fast as I’d like, but hey, listening to the body stays rule #1!

Do you donate blood? Ever felt faint after?

I Had My Blood Checked Out

About five years ago my cholesterol was too high.
Being a healthy young man of about 22 years old at the time, this was not a good thing.
Running wasn’t as present in my life as it is now, but I did go for a run now and then and had plenty of exercise every sunday leading a troop in my Scouts.
I didn’t smoke, but could eat more fruit according to the doctor, so I did.

Since then I check my blood on a yearly basis, the cholesterol is no longer an issue, but I do think it’s a good idea to check if my vitamin levels etc. are OK during the winter.

So Tuesday I got pricked and today I called for the results.
Doctor said everything was fine instead of being somewhat low on iron, my iron reserves, vit. B and D and folic acid.
Not daring to ask what ‘Not Fine’ people’s blood looked like I listened to the advice.

Take a multivitamin with added iron everyday and a vit. D supplement weekly.
Should solve everything and even help with the fatigue I’m often feeling.

So cheers to my doctor and off to the pharmacy.
I’m curious if I’ll notice the result soon or at all.

Do you take supplements during the winter? Do you feel the effect? I’m somewhat sceptic, but all I can lose is some money, I guess…