Fall is here.  That means it is time to detrain.  I generally give myself only a handful of weeks during the year to let myself go, forget about training, and fall into a mild sedentary coma.  With the MTB season done and preparations for next season being a luxurious five weeks away, now is the time to let all the accumulated wounds and hardships heal up.  I stumbled to the finish line of the season this year, barely holding onto my title of NUE series champion.  Superstar Jeremiah Bishop and phenom talent Christian Tanguy were in position to take it from me.  But, I closed my eyes and barely held on and am now the two-time defending champ.

The primary reason for crawling into the finish has been the fact that I am getting married the first weekend of October.  When planning the wedding, we chose a date that corresponds with atrophy season.  But, as a full time athlete, timing a wedding is like trying to get the space shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere without burning up.  The window of opportunity is narrow and I think we picked a date that is a little too close to the end of the season, because I’ve been on the verge of collapse for awhile.  The tiles have been popping off and I have been hurtling out of control.  However, the season is finished, the wedding is almost here, and I haven’t yet lost the rings or gained any disfiguring scars or burned down the house, so maybe all is on track?

By the time I catch my breath, it will be time to start training for 2010 and I will have missed out on this year’s relaxation.  Sweet.  Well, there’s always the next atrophy season…