Adam Bowden has excelled in many sports en route to becoming a world-class triathlete. A national-level swimmer and county soccer player in his younger days, Adam represented England in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Adam has since turned his attention to swim-bike-run to great effect and we chatted to the newest member of Team Precision Fuel & Hydration to talk about his career path and his training plan for IRONMAN 70.3 racing...
Hi Adam, many of our readers won't be familiar with your upward trajectory as an athlete, so could you start by telling us about a journey that's taken in several sporting careers?
My love for sport all started when I was at primary school. Sports day was the best day. I loved it and always wanted to win.
When I got to secondary school I started to want more from sport and with the support of my Mum and Dad and my PE teacher John Ridgewell, I managed to excel in athletics, swimming and football. I competed at county level in football and swimming, and was an international runner on the road, track and cross country.
My biggest achievement was coming 9th at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and also winning the 2008 Olympic trials in the steeplechase.
I missed the qualifying time for the Olympics by just 4 seconds and that was the year I decided I needed a new challenge, so I made the move to triathlon. The highlight moment of my time racing Olympic distance triathlons was finishing 9th in the overall World Triathlon Series rankings.
I've been progressing over the years and I'm now focusing on more IRONMAN 70.3 success after winning IM 70.3 Dubai in 2019, as well as setting my sights on full distance racing and, of course, Kona in the future.
You also enjoyed a 15th place finish at the PTO Championships in 2020 and we actually started working with you just before that race at Challenge Daytona. How did you first hear about Precision Fuel & Hydration out of interest?
I first heard of Precision Fuel & Hydration from talking to other pro athletes who'd enjoyed success with the products. So I then decided to do my own research and contacted Andy Blow who provided more information about their electrolytes and Sweat Testing.
I then went for some physiological testing with SR Bespoke; this included the Sweat Test which showed that I could benefit from stronger electrolyte supplements.
At the time, I was a bit lost on my nutrition and hydration for training and racing as I was trying lots of different companies to see which would work best.
A little while later, I felt something was still missing from my performances and I needed to focus on getting my hydration right, so I followed up with you guys at Precision Fuel & Hydration before my race in Daytona.
I got in touch with James Phillips by booking a hydration strategy video call and we formulated a plan for Daytona.
I felt the advice from James really helped my performance and I'm looking forward to partnering with Precision Fuel & Hydration to help nail my hydration strategy this season.
As well as hydration, which other areas of performance are you working on this year?
There's definitely a big focus on getting my hydration and nutrition right with the help of you guys.
And I'm now working with new coaches - Marc Jenkins and Rhys Jones - and we are focusing strongly on my bike as we're keen to see some big improvements in that discipline.
Particularly as my big targets are the World and European Championships at 70.3 distance, as well as the big show at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona.
Exciting times, so what does a "typical" week of training look like for you at the moment? I know our readers always enjoy seeing what the pro's are up to...
| Day | AM | PM |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Swim - Threshold 5k | Bike - Race Zwift / Vo₂ Efforts Run - 45mins (10-12km) |
| Tuesday | Run - Session Tempo (21+km) | |
| Wednesday | Swim - 5km Aerobic | |
| Thursday | Swim - 5km VO2 | Run - 45mins (10-12km) |
| Friday | Swim - Aerobic/Technical | |
| Saturday | Long ride with efforts (3-4 hours) | Run - Threshold session (21km) |
| Sunday | Long run with 5km efforts |