I think one of my greatest qualities as a professional triathlete is that I am stubborn. Basically when the going gets tough at mile 80 of the bike during Ironman, I like to grit my teeth and go harder. When it comes to the final 13.1 miles of the marathon, I relish dealing with the mental hurdles. My stubborn-ess has brought me some great results.
On the contrary, being stubborn can also not be a great thing. With this weekends US Championships: St. George 70.3 - looming ahead, my being stubborn has not paid off. Regrettably, I am having to withdraw from the race due to some time on the sidelines the past few weeks. According to Chris, I am a much more mature athlete than I was, say 3 years ago. Linsey 3 years ago would have plowed on through until I was broken into pieces. Technically, I can *still* race this weekends event, but realize this would be the stubborn me that can be self-defeating. The risk of racing doesn’t outweigh the fact that it’s a long season ahead and the last thing I want to do is band-aid together a mediocre season. I know, and have seen it time and time again, that a healthy Linsey is an unstoppable Linsey.
Bummed? Incredibly. I feel like the number of people invested in me as an athlete has gone up over the past few years and I hate to disappoint. I take full responsibility for ignoring a few simple symptoms my body was giving me and thinking I was an exception to the rule.
I also was eagerly anticipating the challenging course that St. George presented. Heat (which is on the forecast), hills, wind, incredible competition. It is going to be a day to remember for all involved. I want to wish everyone racing the best of luck!
The good news is, I had a clear MRI and things could be much worse. I just need to be a bit more patient and a few weeks time to get up and running back to 100% speed and health. I am confident this is just a small blip in my path to the Ironman World Championships and I have full intent to toe the line at some great events in June & July.
Thanks for reading and best of luck to everyone tackling the challenging and iconic courses this weekend (Wildflower and St. George). I will be passionately cheering from the sidelines.
Best,
Linsey Corbin