Lucy Charles-Barclay bounces back from broken bone to race at PTO Asian Open
No, that X-ray Instagram post didn't mean the four-time Kona runner up won't be in Hawaii this October
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
After fracturing her third metatarsal during Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau, Lucy Charles-Barclay struggled through the next few months – “It’s been a rough few months,” is the way she described it in a video posted on her YouTube channel today.
Despite all the rumours that came up after she posted the X-ray showing the broken bone in her foot that she wouldn’t be competing at the Ironman World Championship in Kona later this year, it looks like the British star will be there in October, looking to improve on her four straight runner-up finishes on the Big Island.
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“This injury was a real shock, it came out of nowhere,” she said. “It felt incredibly unfair. With the hip break we learned so many things along the way. Whereas with this one … it was one of those freak things that happened.”
The race in Kraichgow was frustrating for Charles-Barclay because she’d felt particularly strong going into the event, but “a lot of things went wrong including hitting a pothole and not being able to change gears properly, my tri bars coming loose, there was a whole host of nightmares that happened.”
Charles-Barclay decided not to disclose to her fans that she was injured. spending the last two months staying fit. She trained with a “moon boot” (a removable cast), even rode her bike for 160 km on a few occasions with it on.
As she returned to running she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she was able to get back. She returned to one of her main training spots – Club La Santa on the Canary Island Lanzarote – “building up the training gradually.”
PTO Asian Open features showdown between Ashleigh Gentle, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Anne Haug
She’s been running for three weeks and is now planning to compete at this weekend’s Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) Asian Open in Singapore.
“It (her running) is feeling a lot easier than I thought it would at this point,” Charles-Barclay said in the video. “Even if I’m at the start line and not at my best, I want to be part of it.”
Charles-Barclay won’t be at the upcoming Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland – after this weekend’s race in Singapore she’ll gear up for another trip to Hawaii.
