A finger prick to test your iron levels or your hemoglobin (protein that contains iron) is the final step before you are shown to the donation chair. This has always been the most stressful part of the process for me. In order to give blood, a female must have a hemoglobin level of least 125 g/l to be eligible to donate whole blood.
They have been taking a pound of blood from me since the days when I worked across the street from Canadian Blood Services in Ottawa.
I was hit and miss meeting the minimal requirement in my early days of giving blood. My knowledge about nutrition was all but null. I was a vegetarian who thought combining foods and beer would solve all my nutritional needs. Hey, it was the 1990s and the internet was barely a thing.
Fast forward many, many years (and a plant-based nutrition certificate) later, I am dialled in with my nutritional needs. As a female, vegan/vegetarian, ultra runner, I have to be. I am not saying I eat well all the time but I am doing a heck of a lot better than those days when I thought a plate of nachos was a healthy full course meal.
Earlier this month I gave another pint of blood. And guess what? My hemoglobin level was an all time high for me! It was 147 g/l. Usually it is hovering around the 130s so I was stoked. This tells me I have been doing all the right things with my diet.
Because I have this crazy race season with some big scary goals, I have been laser focused on my diet. Since I have been averaging 80+ kilometres a week, I have been packing away a lot of food. I am always hungry. All the greens. All the whole foods. Less crap. Sadly less booze.
A lot of people think, they just have to eat well for a couple weeks before a big race. That is so far from the truth. Sure eating well before your race is important but it has to be a lifetime commitment. Food is fuel for everything we do. The better we eat, the better our bodies will perform.
Training update
I feel good where I am with my training. I am still on the slow mileage build but I am getting in sold time on feet. I feel stronger and ready to add some speed work into my training. I am ready for the hurt. I joined a few social group runs in the past few weeks. I was forced to run faster than I usually do on my solo runs. Some people run faster alone. I run much slower alone. I consider myself an earthy runner. I like to chill, hug the trees and take photos.
That said I have big goals this year so I have added speed work into my training schedule.
As they say, you have to put in the work to get the results that you want.
Newsworthy: Just recently Canadian Blood Services ended the ban on men who have sex with other men. Essentially all donors – no matter their gender or sexual orientation – will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months during the screening process.
How is your training going? Do you give blood? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.