Over doing it

For sure I over did it this holiday season. Looks like I will be in the same boat as the masses this new year.

Saturday

Spent some time putting together more baby stuff then down town for the WLCA Christmas party. Lynn is starting to realize how the baby is going to feel!! :)

TGIF

It may not be Friday but I am on my way back home. Been doing some company training out of town from border to border. Oh yeah last weekend spent a lot of time on the trails, best they have been all year!!

Priceless

  Two baby showers and two full weekends of family and friends, PRICELESS! Thanks to all of our family and friends for all of their continued love and support. All that is left is to have the baby! I CAN'T WAIT!!

X-mas time?

Had some time between work and workout so we got to decorate the tree. What a treat, isn't she BEAUTIFUL! I am talking about my wife:).

On the road again!

Another 3 hours today. That counts as more than a weeks worth of riding towards the end of last season. Now off to get some Xmas lights and a tree:)!

MTB, Pie, Cool whip, extra coolwhip

Went for a 2plus hour MTB ride with Joe and company yesterday and man was that fun. Not only are the Tosa trails in great shape, the weather was off the hook!! Thanksgiving was great and I didn't even over eat until the next day. With over two hours in the saddle, I was hungry for some grub. My eyes said I couldn't have too much but after the plate was clean, my belly was not agreeing (I started to look like Lynn). It didn't take long for that feeling to go away and it was time for pie. I am sure you all saw my rendition of what a pie should look like with Lynn's facebook post. Yup I was out of line and she put me in my place, she is sooo smart:). For now its onward with the training. Training for baby and for the MTB season, ahhhh this is going to be a great year!!

Action, Paragon Style!

The man himself, Joe C. started a fitness company of his own called Paragon. More to come on that!

When I question what we are doing, he says "who's holding the clipboard?". Then I say, you and get it done. I love it!!!

Weight Relief

The schedule reflected weights at Brookfield East with Joe tonight. After short deliberation I realized that if I can barely walk, there is no way I could complete another Joe Cieszynski "Coach" Beat Down. He agreed an easy spin and stretch were a better idea, THANK GOD!

Routine

With training it is all about routines. Been waking up early to get this one back in the mix.
Happy Wednesday!

Game on!

Alright. Not sure who is in for a long read, but here are the thoughts in my head.

It is no secret that I have been on a training downhill slide since I started my new job as an outside sales rep for County Materials (The best damn block manufacturing company in the fricken midwest!).  That is not to say that my life has been though. For sure the last two years of my live have been the MOST exciting, at least up until now. I am sure with the baby on the way things will only get more exciting!

Taking things back to training. There has to be some sort of balance struck between my personal agenda and my professional drive. No doubt I have taken the same drive that brought me near the top step of the WORS series and converted that energy into a bridge for a successful career. I am always trying to do my best! Of coarse Lynn has helped me every step of the way as I have for her. As of recent she has been so reassuring that I will be the one tearing legs off instead of barely being able to pull my fat ass over the hills. Mike Phillips says I have another year of lax but have to be on track and killing it by 2013. I say F-That!! Lets give this thing a go for 2012. If I fall flat, screw it, I can pick it back up and follow the Mikee plan. With Lynn's reassurance and my finally seeing the light, we will hope to see the old Big D at the races.

Moving into the next phase as my training starts, I will ask for everyone that I know to keep me on my toes. It has been proven that if there is a support system in place for any person trying to accomplish a goal, the chances become greater of that happening. Not to take anything away from my teammates on 212, because without them, you might not have even seen me on the scene in 2011. I just know that if everyone that I come in contact with is asking me how my training is going, I will not be able to let you all down. And so it begins, I will update on Facebook, here, and even the 212 blog site so if you are all paying attention, ask me how things are going. My training starts officially this Tuesday with Joe in the weight room. Not sure if you heard, but he is now a Level One USA Cycling coach!!!!!!!!!


Game on!
Darrin

Road tripping

For a nice little get away weekend. Good times!
D

As I sit at my desk

I think to myself, what a great day it is going to be. I am feeling good, the sun is shining, and its Friday! Happy Friday y'all and good luck to my 212 teammates getting ready to race this weekend.

Big D

Broken For Sure

Take a close look at the third rib from the bottom. Yup that's broken for sure. Doc says it will be about 3 weeks before I feel better and about 6 weeks for a full recovery. Once again thank you to Brian Eppen for waiting on the side of the trail with me, Teammate Ryan Krayer for getting help, and the first responders for towing my bike and me off the trail. Lesson of the day: Listen to your wife when she tells you not to ride. Story behind the lesson: I actually injured my ribs on a bike ride a couple weeks ago. Lynn didn't think it was a good idea for me to race, but I wasn't going to let a bruised rib keep me from racing, so we ventured up to Rhinelander anyway. As we were waiting for the race to start, I wanted to see for myself just how bad the rib was. I took a deep breath and noticed a bulge on my left side. I decided to try to push it back into place. This should have been my convincing moment not to race as it made a cracking sound. Lynn advised me not to race, but I had to prove her wrong. I decided to race anyway against her better judgement. Things weren't going great, but I was able to race. It was all going good until I went over my limit a couple of times and couldn't breathe, but I couldn't let Lynn be right. Then for no reason other then Karma, I fell off the small pine bridge and squared up perfectly on a rock. I couldn't catch a breath, and honestly was really scared I messed things up bad. From the vantage point of other racers, it must have looked just as bad.

So again, thanks to everyone who helped me get my pathetic carcas off of the trail, and I appologize to those that I scared (Lynn and Ryan for sure).

Wish me a speedy recovery, and thanks for all of your good thoughts!

Darrin
AKA Big D

It's like that.

Unbelievable! Review number one brings 6 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to race this thing!

Good luck to our CHOHUTTA bound teammates!

Christmas in April

He came, he really came! Thank you to all the great sponsors who stepped up for another year. Especially the Peariso's and Adventure 212!!! You guys are great!

Big D

Christmas in April?

A little birdie told me Santa was coming to town. Don't worry, I will take pictures!

Taking in the sights

A lot of my time has been spent at work lately so one might wonder why these sights are thus. The work week actually starts on Sunday believe it or not. I spend a considerable amount of time (with Lynn) getting every detail of my week planned and ready so when Monday rolls around all I have to do is go. Lynn and I share a similar schedule so it is quite easy to work as a team at this. My routine has been, Wake up at 4am, shower, shave, eat, stretch, and get ready to leave on my bicylce to work. Thats right, I ride my bike to work and I love it. At a little over 11.5 miles, I am given a sense of accomplishment and time to mentally prepare for the day. After a good 12 or so hour day I get ready and ride back home, eat supper, do a few chores, and get ready for bed. There is a guy I work with who when you ask him how he is doing he will say, "living the dream, living large" which is the attitude I try to mimic. I feel blessed to have the opportunity I have been given and will not fail!

Now the sights.........

A trip to the Milorganite plant for a WLCA event provided a great view of the city from the south side. The facility was also very cool!

A paver job that a customer asked me to take a look at. I thought the picture looked cool! 

 A picture from an ASID event with Lynn (sorry not work) that I thought looked really cool.

 The NARI home improvement show with a fireplace dealer that I rep was in. I got to mortar some of the stone on the fireplace which was a good lesson lesson in thin veneers.

 Went to a Marquette game, Several Bucks games, and a Packer game. TONS of fun!

Getting creative while trying to help the Landscape Committee that I sit on design new Master Boards for our samples. The Lexington board was adopted and brought to reality. COOL!

 Doing plenty of drive by's to match up stone and brick.

Taking a minute to keep myself sane, that was a full mug of coffee at 6am. I got a good giggle out of it.

 I couldn't help but stop and take a picture. It looked way better in person, and this is why I ride.

All in all things are great and to quote my Coach "You have to take life as it comes and be realistic." So I am, and found that I do have time for work, and biking. Well, its time for a ride so I am going to get ready and hit up a good 4hr loop up by Holy Hill. See you all soon!

Darrin

Linked

I am officially Linkedin one might say. I am actually enjoying the proffessional networking site and am finding people that I know aside from the work place.

Besides work I am riding more and even commuting daily to the office by bicycle. 11.67 miles one way to be exact (I even charted it). The extra 45 minutes in the morning and at night really helps to clear my head and I find myself to be alot less stressed. Becoming a professional mountain biker seemed easier than becoming a proffessional Sales person. That could be because I was having so much fun riding my bike that I forgot how hard it actually was. That sounds more reasonable!

I am having fun at work too and have also found it to be a challange. I always love a good challange, and with the construction season (and biking) right around the corner, I say bring it on!! I am motivated, ready, and can't wait to get things going on both sides. I hope everyone is gearing up for some great things to come and I will se my biking palls soon.

Happy riding!

Darrin

Cancun Getaway

Never mind, that was somone elses life!

20inches of snow, 4hours of labor, 2people with shovels, and 1wheelborrow. Now that is the Wisconsin I remembered growing up. I hope all of the kids enjoyed their day off!

Happy trails!

Soul Ride

Went soul riding on the Tosa trails today and loved every minute of it!