Train Polar! http://trainpolar.org/ A website for bears in training... brought to you by Cancer Services, Inc! en Copyright 2009 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:52:08 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Nutrition Tip: Hydration for Cycle Events and Mission Moment Train Polar Ride:

Don't forget that the next Polar Bear training ride is this Saturday at Paul's Schwinn at 9am! Also, for any female cyclists and triathletes, Mock Orange is having a Lady's Only clinic on Thursday, Dec. 3rd from 6 - 7pm. Let Jay know if you plan to attend.

We hope to see everyone on Saturday morning!

Mission Moment:

Here's proof that Cancer Services does put smiles on the faces of people in our community with cancer. Our staff recently assisted a client in Yadkin County with dentures because he'd had all of his teeth pulled due to head and neck cancer treatments.

Cancer Services called to check in with him and he's so happy that he'll soon be getting his dentures. He said he's very appreciative and that he's looking forward to "walking around and being able to smile again." 

Now that makes us smile and also encourages us to grin and bear the cold during our courageous ride on New Year's Day! = )

- Anna Cohn (Coordinator of the Polar Bear Ride for Courage)
Don't forget to register and create your fundraising page!

Hydration Tips for Cyclists:

Before a Ride: Start hydrating 48 hours in advance to make sure your fluid status is adequate on race day. Fluids that are best for hydration during the day include water, juices, milk or soymilk and unsweet tea. [For some ideas on healthy beverages, visit this site: Fluids and Cancer: What Should I Drink?].

Sodas and sweet tea hydrate, however they provide more sugar than is necessary. Alcohol is also not the best way to hydrate, so keeping that in moderation is the best idea, even on New Year's Eve before the race! If you do partake in more than moderation on New Year's Eve, it is even more crucial for you to be sure you're getting adequate water before the ride.

During a Ride: During your training rides and on ride day, hydration on the bike is key. There will be rest stops where you can refill your water bottles, but be sure that you start with one or two of them on your bike. You might choose to fill with water and eat snacks occasionally, or you might want to drink a sport drink during the ride. Fluid recommendations during a ride are: 4 to 5 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes.

After the Ride: After finishing your event or training ride, it is important to rehydrate your body. If it's particularly cold on ride day some good options for hydrating and warming up are soup, hot chocolate, coffee and hot tea. It's important that you replace the fluids that you lost on the ride. The easiest way to tell if you've rehydrated is by making sure your urine color is light yellow.

Start a good hydration habit during your training rides and it will be easy as a snow cone on the bid day!!

Go Polar! ]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/12/nutrition-tip-hydration-for-cy-1.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/12/nutrition-tip-hydration-for-cy-1.html Mission Moments Nutrition Tips Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:52:08 -0500 Mission Moment: Breast Cancer Survivor Fundraising Pages:

Do you have questions on how to set up a fundraising page or how to donate to someone's page? Email the Ride Coordinator, Anna Cohn (anna.cohn@cancerservicesonline.org) for more information!

Want to see a sample fundraising page? Check out Julie's page at http://www.active.com/donate/cancerservices2010/JulieandLinda. Even if you don't want to set up your page, you can always donate to someone else's!! Once you get yours set up, email it to us and we'll link it on our site! 

Mission Moment: Breast Cancer Survivor

At Cancer Services, we provide all of our services free to charge to people with all types of cancer in our community.  One of those services is to help women feel beautiful and at ease during their treatments. 

Cancer Services offers them a private fitting room with bras, prosthesis, and wigs galore and someone to help them find the perfect fit! 

One of the women who was in our office recently told her patient advocate "I haven't felt this beautiful since before my surgery (6 years ago)!"  She just moved here and came in to get a new prostheses & bra.  Her whole day was brighter!

 As we face the challenge of riding through wind and raising money for people in our community with cancer, it's important to remember how many people are able to have a brighter day due to the services Cancer Services can offer at no cost to them!

- Anna Cohn (Coordinator of the Polar Bear Ride for Courage)
Register for the Ride!
]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/mission-moment-breast-cancer-s.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/mission-moment-breast-cancer-s.html Mission Moments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0500 Thank You to Clemmons Bicycle and Training Tip from Mock Orange Bikes! Clemmons Bicycle for the nutrition clinic held this Wednesday evening. We had a good group with a lot of information. They did an awesome job with providing drinks (wine AND beer!).

I also wanted to let you know that they will be doing a ride from their shop this Saturday. For details, email Travis! There are many great opportunities to get out and put some miles in so that you're ready to Go Polar!

Our next official event in the Train Polar Series is a group ride on Dec. 5th at Paul's Schwinn in Winston-Salem. Stay tuned for ride times, and let us know if you plan to come!

- Julie

Training Tip from Mock Orange Bikes
For a ride like the Ride for Courage, it is important to spend a fair amount of time on the bike in the months leading up to the ride.

Since the Ride for Courage is a metric century, you will want to be accustomed to spending  several hours in the saddle at a time. Take advantage of the nice fall weather and find some nice bike routes! The Piedmont Flyers Bicycle Club  is a great resource for routes.

If you're planning to do the 30 mile, shorter route, you will still want to make sure that you've put in miles on your bike and in cooler weather to know what to expect. If you normally ride 12 - 15 mph, then be sure to do several 2 - 3 hour training rides.

Allow yourself several consecutive weekends of solid biking in the months prior to the ride. Practice eating and drinking on the bike as well, as for a ride of this length you will want to stay properly fueled. When January 1 arrives you will be ready to tackle the Ride for Courage!

Stay tuned for more nutrition tips, mission moments and our next training tip - what to wear for cycling in cold weather!

A special thanks to Jay at Mock Orange Bikes for putting this tip together for us!

]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/training-tip-from-mock-orange.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/training-tip-from-mock-orange.html Training Tips Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:54:16 -0500 Great Ride this Weekend! And Your Weekly Mission Moment Train Polar Series Update:

We couldn't have had any better weather for our kick-off of the Train Polar Series today at Cycletherapy!

I came out at the last minute to do what I thought was going to be a short version of the ride. However, thanks to the guilt trip by one of our sponsors, who will remain nameless (hint: he's an oncologist as well as a cyclist in our area!), I ended up doing all 36 miles! It was rough at the end, but worth it as the scenery was beautiful and we had AWESOME support from the guys at Cycletherapy. Plus, great deals at the shop afterwards!

Thanks to everyone who came out and we look forward to seeing you at the rest of the train polar events, including the Nutrition & Training clinic on Wednesday. Be sure to let us know if you are planning to come (760-9983 or anna.cohn@cancerservicesonline.org).

If you missed today's ride and are looking for another ride this weekend, the David Sherman Memorial Ride is taking place in High Point tomorrow. Here are some details:

When:    Sunday, November 15th
Where:    Fitness Center @ HP Regional Hospital  (off Quaker Lane & Lindsay Street)
Routes:   25 & 50 mile distances heading into Randolph County (towards Caraway).  Cue sheets will be available and the courses will be marked.
Time:       Registration opens at 12:30 pm; Safety talk at 1:15 pm;  50 milers off at 1:30 pm; 25 milers off at1:45 pm.

Hope to see you soon!
- Julie

Mission Moment:

When someone comes to Cancer Services, our caring team of professionals are ready and equipped to help with all types of needs anyone with cancer may have...from peer support to financial assistance, help paying for medication and bills to just tips on how to eat healthy during treatment! 

From the first meeting of the front desk volunteer who greets everyone with a smile, to the loving hug of the patient advocate, Cancer Services offers insight and hope to those going through cancer and their family. When someone comes in they may feel hopeless but they will leave Cancer Services knowing they have hope and support they desperately need. 

As one Cancer Services client recently told the Cancer Services' staff:

"I just wanted to tell you that you were my angel. You have helped us so much and taken the stress off of our family during a difficult time."

~ Mother of client, a 9 yr old girl being treated for osteosarcoma at Brenner's Children's Hospital at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. 

Let's ride hard for this little girl and help encourage others through our fundraising page as we come together as a community to "enhance the quality of life for those living with cancer and provide the gift of life through education!"

For more information on Cancer Services, visit our website. And don't forget to REGISTER FOR THE RIDE!
  ]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/when-someone-comes-to-cancer.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/when-someone-comes-to-cancer.html Mission Moments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0500 NEW FOR 2010! The Train Polar Series
Mark these dates on your calendar, and be sure to RSVP so we know to expect you. You can RSVP to our office (760-9983) or Anna.Cohn@CancerServicesOnline.org.

Training Ride
Cycletherapy
Saturday, Nov 14
8:30 a.m.

Training & Nutrition Clinic
Clemmons Bicycle Shop
Wednesday, Nov 18
6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Training Ride
Paul's Cycling & Fitness
Saturday, Dec 5

Bike Clinic - Gearing your bike for the ride
Ken's Bike Shop
Wednesday, Dec 9
6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Training Ride
Mock Orange Bicycles
Saturday, Dec 12
11 a.m.

See you then!

 




]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/new-for-2010-the-train-polar-s.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/new-for-2010-the-train-polar-s.html Nutrition Tips Training Tips Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:47:02 -0500 Nutrition 101 for Cyclists Polar Bear Ride for Courage routes there are 3 things you absolutely have to know about nutrition for cyclists.

1. You need to EAT! Whether it's 25 miles or 62 miles, you are going to need to eat something along the route. You could probably make it if you didn't, but will feel MUCH BETTER if you have something. Things that I usually use on rides have a combination of quick carbohydrate, longer lasting carbohydrate, protein and possibly some fat.

Samples of this combination are:

  • power bars or bites
  • trail mix
  • peanut butter sandwich
  • fruit
  • sport drink 
Future articles will go into more specifics on my favorite products!

2. You don't have to use any brand name products. There are a lot of products marketed to athletes that make you think you need them for good performance. However, most of those products exist primarily for profit, not for your performance!

It's not necessary to use any special products when training. What's most important is that you determine what works best for you, whether it's as simple as banana, pretzels, peanuts and water or whether it's an expensive energy bar.

3. Don't try anything new on ride day! The last thing you need is to feel sick on the day of your ride! If you plan to drink alcohol on New Year's Eve, don't drink more than normal. It could come back and get you while you're on the bike! Also, be sure that the foods you use during training are the same foods that you have on ride day.

Stay tuned for more tips on nutrition and training as well as stories that will encourage you to support Cancer Services' mission "To enhance the quality of life for those living with cancer and to provide the gift of life through education".

What's YOUR Courage??

- Julie, Your Train Polar Dietitian

For more healthy eating tips, visit Julie's website at www.cancerdietitian.com.



]]> http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/nutrition-101-for-cyclists.html http://trainpolar.org/2009/11/nutrition-101-for-cyclists.html Nutrition Tips Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:33:38 -0500