Donating blood...

Same advice here.  I'd wait until after your race.

First time donor? Great that you are so enthusiastic to look 8 months out. Make it the week AFTER your race. First, you don't know how you'll react, how much bruising you might experience definitely a function of the phlebotomist (the person drawing your blood) AND what you do afterwards. Second, did you ever wonder why they won't let you donate more often than every 8 weeks? It takes that long to fully replace things like red-blood cells (good for transporting oxygen) and white-blood cells (to ward off infection). You really don't want your body functioning at 80-90% for your "A" race! Fluid gets replaced within 24 hours (drink lots of water in the 24 hours post-donation) and platelets in about 2 weeks.

We have a blood drive every 8 weeks at work. My doctor suggested not donating in the month prior to my backpacking trip.

Thanks for the advice. Just as long as I dont see the needle go in, I think I'll be ok.