Fashion Board 1-08-04 through 02-03-04

[Pretty Little Flower]

I gave blood for the first time this morning. I'm feeling fine (thank you), but I am wondering about short term and long term effects on exercising. Particularly intense cardiovascular exercise. Alright, I'll just admit it. I go to spin classes. So sue me. Anyways, these classes are pretty damn intense - I routinely lose about 4-5 lbs of sweat during a one hour class, despite the fact that I drink 16-22 oz. of fluid during the class. The web sites I have read about blood donation and exercise all talk about dehydration, and varying time intervals of decreased performance. Any anecdotal experience out there? Nothing would be more emasculating to me than to faint in a girly spin class.