"TREADS.COM/DFT" team blog: http://dftwomen.blogspot.com/

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2-6-10: on our Christmas trip my cousin Jessica asked me "so megan -- 2012, we gonna see you in the games or what??"  to which I replied "no, those days are over, i'm just a working stiff now . . ." and as soon as i'd said it, i found myself wondering, "have i just admitted out loud that i've thrown in the towel on my dream?"  much has transpired in the few weeks since that christmas conversation, not the least of which is that i've been given permission to work hard at training and racing so that i can pursue my dreams while also pursuing my legal career goals.  i'm still gonna be a full-time attorney, but that's not a bad thing when i have the opportunity to ride my bike more.  i believe this means that exciting things are ahead . . .

2-4-10: our law firm's new website is up and running and we've just added a lot more content: www.moriarty.com.

1-31-2010: i thought it'd be fun to do a very nontraditional ride for our team weekend so i rented out the boulder velodrome and got the team out on the track -for most of them, it was their first time!  here are two videos of the event:

1-29-2010:  We are hoping this is the first (and second) of many media plugs our team receives this season!!!

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/01/industry-news/treads-comdft-womens-team-targets-nrc_103240

http://www.podiuminsight.com/2010/01/29/treads-comdft-builds-on-2009-successes/
 

you need only google us to find us everywhere on the world wide web ;) 

1-28-2010: looking forward to this weekend as the team will be in town and we'll kick things off with some team bonding at the Boulder Velodrome followed by our big launch party, featuring sponsors, teammates meeting and team photos with all of our sweet sponsor schwag.  The weekend will bring a lot of work and running around like a maniac for me -so many small details to make it go off without a hitch.  But it will be SO worth it to wine and dine our team and our amazing sponsors.  Look for photos from the event to be posted next week! 

1-19-2010: enjoyed rideable temps this past weekend and just finished out a tough 4-day block of training.  I am getting over this awful sinus infection I've been battling, plus our super-sweet 2010 team clothing arrived.  The culmination of new threads, feeling better and nice weather led to me getting my mojo back - I am hungry for riding and training hard again!  (There was a brief stint this winter when I wondered if I had lost my love, but not to fear, it is BACK!).  Check out the new TREADS.COM outfits (this is the cool new thermal jacket!):

1-7-2010: so I logged my first trainer workout of the year on the trainer last night.  It was a week ago that I'd done an 80 miler in the sweet warm temps of Maui -and yet last night, I found myself in our cold, dark unfinished basement, cranking out some hard efforts on the trainer.  Eyes focused on HRM and PT alternating back and forth, ears full of techno from the ipod.  No TV, no training partner.  Just me and the numbers on the PT -which don't lie.  I nailed the workout -didn't cheat one little bit.  And when I was done and stretching afterwards, I felt pumped.  Pumped for the season, pumped for my hunger for racing which returns more and more by the day.  Stoked that if I can muster up the nerve to conquer a workout in my basement, I can handle much worse out on the roads. 

1-4-2010: happy new year!  We spent the holidays in Maui and had a fantastic time, seeing the island, doing lots of riding and swimming and just generally enjoying the sunshine and laid-back atmosphere.  It has been hard to re-adjust to the cold temps and snow in Colorado since we returned; we are ready for spring to arrive that's for sure!

12-13-09: yesterday we had a busy day, with spin class, a snow hike (intended to be snow shoe-ing, but not quite enough deep snow) and then a trip to the Zoo for Christmas light viewing.  The zoo was really cool featuring LOTS of lights and chances to see some animals.  

11-30-09: Reminder!!  Our 2nd "Thursday Night Cycling college" is this Thursday night, December 3rd and the topic is BALANCE: how to train hard, have a job, have a life - a topic especially relevant at this hectic time of year!  Hope you can attend -please RSVP to treads.

11-10-09: i've made a breakthrough on my sideaches while running.  The past 6 weeks or so, I've been doing yoga or pilates 5x/week, really focusing on core strength.  Ta-DA!  No more sideaches, I can run pain free again.  Rob thinks I had weak intra-abdominal muscles that were cramping on runs due to weakness.  Now that I've got some core strength, it doesn't happen anymore.  Well whatever the reason, I'm pumped to have running back as a viable option for the days it's too cold for riding.  So - if you get sideaches when you run, try starting with core work and see what happens!

10-24-09: today was my 3rd CX race of the season and my first-ever MUDDY cx race.  I assumed it would be nice and dry, but apparently Castle Rock got more snow than Denver did, so it was still melty-slushy- aka muddy by the time our category to took the course (as in, standing water in 2 ditches, several inches deep-uck).  I started out dead last (I still don't feel comfortable with my skills and don't want to get in anyone's way) and really struggled to manipulate the muddy sections and the standing water/muddy drops into the uphills.  I've never ridden in mud, which makes me a very poor mud rider (duh).  As the race went on, I started getting the hang of it - realizing you have to control the front wheel less and let it find its own path, and not focus so much on "your line" as you do on pedaling through the messy thick mud to keep moving.  There was a downhill mud path, slightly off-camber.  I struggled with that but by the 4th lap had mastered it - amazing how the learning curve shortens on each lap.  I felt my handling skills improved more in that 45 minute race than they have over years of road cycling.  And truth be told, it was pretty fun to ride in the mud.  Not fun was the cleanup afterwards, what a PAIN in the butt:

10-20-09: I love this protein powder!  (They also make a great women's multi-vitamin!)  

10-12-09: so the cold and snow this last weekend made riding outdoors an unlikely choice.  I can't handle it under 32 degrees, my fingers freeze and then it's all over.  so I went running.  more like a shuffle than a jog, given that it's been over a year since i last tried to run.  Sure enough - same painful side stitch, same spot, same circumstances (starts after about 10-15 minutes and makes running unbearable).  I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this?  I come from a running background, 4 marathons and 4 years of high school track.  But the more into cycling I got, the more this side pain grew when I'd try to run.  I can't figure it out -but would appreciate feedback since I'll never be able to do an Ironman unless i can get this under control!

9-27-09: this weekend I got way WAY out of my comfort zone.  Saturday was my 3rd or 4th ever cross race (first of this season), on my brand new 2009 Cannondale CX frame (1/2 pound lighter than my trek frame was!).  Gorgeous weather and teammates Susan and Mo joined me at the line for the suffer fest.  I'm told that's one of the hardest race courses in the schedule, which is a huge relief because it was HARD.  Several of the climbs were freaking steep and I was cursing myself for running a road crank instead of a compact crank (that's on the to-do list).  I started off dead last on purpose, so as to be sure I didn't interfere with those riders that are actually competent at the sport.  I eventually passed a couple people, including Mo who was feeling terrible and couldn't breathe.  Susan passed me with a lap to go, which was AWESOME since this was her first race back following her crash/elbow surgery back in June.  it's so good to have her back out there.  Rob also raced and had some bad luck on the climb which included bashing his knee on the underside of his handlebars, so his knee is hurting badly now.  But we both finished and I think we may actually race CX again.  It's soooo hard. 

Today I went mountain biking on an "easy" trail - yeah right they are never easy for me.  We did Waterton Canyon and the scenery was pretty awesome, when I could actually peel my eyes off the trail and look around.  Susan lent me her full susp MTB which made things much more enjoyable (versus my rigid steel frame junker bike!).  We enjoyed the warm temps and the gang was very patient with my slowness and freaked-outness.  I do think i'd come to really love it so I need to work on getting a "squishy" bike as they call them.  It was a good weekend of parking the road bike and trying new things.   I found both days to be mentally challenging which made for a great distraction from the stresses of "real life."  Hoping the sunshine sticks around awhile longer into the fall so I can do more weekends like this one! 

9-20-09: our first-ever mandatory SW4 skills clinic went GREAT yesterday!  Tucker and Chris from Peak to Peak took our gals under their wings and lined up an entire day of riding and skills drills to get these gals more comfortable on their bikes, which will hopefully translate into safer racing at the CAT 4 level!  The clinic included our 2010 SW4 members as well as a few of our CAT 3s that stopped by.  Sandy even came down from Glenwood to participate!  It was a great way for the team to bond heading into the off-season and to kick off their 2010 season as a group.  Thanks to everyone that participated and to Tucker and Chris for sharing the day with our team!  Lots of photos are posted on facebook. 

9-14-09: Last week Dad crushed the South Dakota Senior games, taking 3 gold medals- PLUS he beat the 20K state record he set last year by over 2 minutes!!