Front row, second from the left is:
Siobhan Brownlow, and front row far left is Barney Randle.
Both received treatment at Physio4Life at the time they took part in the Ironman Austria 2006.
‘I’ve always been prone to injury with long distance running, so when I undertook to enter Ironman Austria 2006 back in October of last year, I knew I’d have my work cut for me in terms of injury management if I was going to be in any shape to run a marathon on race day. The Ironman race consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. At least with three sports to train for, my level of cross-training would be high, but sure enough I started encountering problems with achilles tendonitis as soon as the run mileage increased.
By seeing Mark Saunders last November/December, I was able to get my achilles problem sorted out and got some orthotics for my running shoes which we hoped would stave off any further injuries.
Luckily for me, with my endurance hours being built up on the bike rather than the run, I was able to sustain the mileage required in training and arrived in Austria fully fit on race day.
I’m happy to say I had an incredible experience doing my first ever Ironman, and finished in 11hrs55mins with a sub 4hr30min marathon to my name – so absolutely delighted with the result. I should say my taste for long distance events has only strengthened through the experience, so come my next big challenge, I’m sure I’ll be back down at Physio4Life working on my injury prevention once again! My flexibility (or lack of it) will be the next phase in my training, though – so Pilates exercises in the gym will form a welcome relief from the grind of heavy mileage’.
Siobhan Brownlow – Physio4Life Client