Cardiff triathlete storms back from injury to take second place in Pays d’Aix Ironman
Cardiff triathlete Adam Bowden continues to deliver a very strong performance in only his second year of middle distance triathlon racing despite a recent injury.
Adam’s girlfriend and sports physiotherapist, Rhian Davies of one2one Therapy explains how the centre has worked to keep Adam race-fit:
“Following a 3 week training camp in Portugal in January, Adam started complaining of discomfort in his heel and outer part of his foot. We assumed this was due to tightness in the muscles of his lower legs following camp. He then raced and won Ironman 70.3 Dubai on the 1st February which inevitably aggravated his symptoms. Shortly after that, the pain became so intense that he could not run at all. At this stage we arranged an MRI scan which confirmed Adam was suffering with plantar fasciitis (a common running injury).
“With his next race only a few weeks away, we were unsure whether Adam would make it to California to race Ironman 70.3 Oceanside. With intensive physiotherapy, Adam managed to get to the start line pain free but he hadn’t been able to do any quality run sessions leading up to the race. He still managed to podium at this event coming 3rd. Our biggest concern was the race would flare up his injury but thankfully it didn’t.”
Adam then faced a 4 week block of solid training to get his run fitness back before the next race in France, Ironman 70.3 Pays d’Aix, again complemented with sports physiotherapy treatment from one2one Therapy.
Rhian continues:
“We had to be careful not to irritate the plantar fasciae during this time, so we continued to support Adam with preventative physio treatment. He did really well to podium again at this race finishing in second. Not only did he have the fastest run split in all of his events this year, he managed a personal best at this distance with a run of 1:08:41 in Pays d’Aix. Adam’s background in running, being a former international runner representing GB on the road, track and cross country obviously gives him the edge when it comes to the final discipline of a triathlon.”
Adam’s next race is Samorin in Slovakia for The Challenge Championship on Sunday 2nd June – and the one2one Therapy team will be accompanying him. Rhian says:
“Myself and Adam’s stepsons, Harri & Rhys, will be travelling with Adam. Its a big race with a stacked field so he needs to be in top shape for this one.“Following a very stressful few months, unsure whether we would get Adam to the start line, we are delighted Adam is pain free and able to race. It will be good to support him in Samorin and be there to provide physiotherapy & massage pre & post race – we’re looking forward to another strong performance.”