SAM MILEHAM
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July

7/25/2017

 
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Over the last few weeks I've had two races. One bad, one brilliant. Let’s start with the most recent one which was the bad one. 

The London Triathlon.
This is an event I look forward to every year. It's one of the few on the calendar where I don't have to stay overnight in a hotel. You could call it a 'home race'. This was my first Olympic distance race of the year. A test race to see how I would handle the distance. I was feeling a bit heavy in the arms leading up to the race but the legs felt good. Arriving at the ExCel centre I was pretty shocked at how small this triathlon had become compared to previous years. It wasn't what it used to be for sure. Nevertheless, there was a race to focus on. Male Elite. The best of the best as they kept calling us. I discovered water temperature was 20.7C which for elites means wetsuits are banned. Not the best start. Going down for swim warm up it was pretty chilly and the water was cold. I'm not sure where they measured the temperature but it was cold, it was choppy and it was windy.
The horn sounded and I was off. I got off to a good start keeping on peoples toes for the first half of the swim, but suddenly I looked up to sight and everyone was a few metres ahead. I have no idea what happened but I lost a lot of ground and never made it back up. I exited and ran up to transition doing everything I could to latch onto some people ahead, but it didn't work. I started the bike on my own ready for a painful 40 km. Thankfully I was joined by two others who caught me up. I didn't have much in the tank and struggled almost all the way round. Coming off the bike I was feeling good but as soon as I got outside the ExCel centre I could feel the knee screaming at me. 1 lap or 3.3km into the 10km run I called it a day. DNF. It wasn't my day. A shocking swim, followed by a savage bike and a painful knee was a recipe for disaster. London just doesn’t seem to be my race. I've started four times and only finished twice. We will give it a go next year and keep trying to push for a good result. I’m determined to one day make the podium at this well established race. Onto a more positive note...

British Super Series SuperTri Junior Elite.
This race was six days after the European Championships. I'd been on a high all week leading up to the race due to the success of Dusseldorf. I hadn’t done much training either. I'd swum twice and cycled twice. Nothing hard so I wasn't expecting much from this race. When the klaxon sounded I immediately struggled to get into a good rhythm. About 400m into the 750m swim I finally found some strength and powered to the end to make up some places. As I was swimming I was noticing that not many gaps were appearing. I thought this could lead to some big groups and it did. Mounting the bike I was just off the back of the 2nd group. Unfortunately I just couldn't hook on to the back of that group so I eased up and let the group behind catch me. We worked well and kept up a furious pace closing the gap on what was now one big lead group. We got the gap down to about 15 seconds but just couldn't make the junction.
Towards the end of the bike leg I started to skip some turns on the front and save some energy for the run not knowing how my knee would hold up. By the time the bike was over the gap was about 25sec to the lead group. We entered transition as they were exiting. I knew I would have my work cut out to catch some of the leaders...but I set out on a mission. I said to my coach it was all or nothing. I was on my limit for the whole 5km, but I just keep catching people until I was overtaking some big names. Suddenly I noticed I was within the top 20 for sure, somewhere I had never finished in a Junior Super Series race before. I kept pushing and pushing trying to catch as many people as I could and praying my knee would hold up. Crossing the finish line I was absolutely spent. I looked over to my mum and she just smiled and said where did that come from. I had an absolute stormer. I'd smashed my 5km PB by a big margin and for the first time ever I had broken 16 minutes! Just to top off the day I’d finished 10th! 10th! I was on cloud 9. I was lost for words. 

So there you have a bunch of mixed feelings. From the highest of highs in one race to one of the toughest ends to another. This weekend I am travelling up north to try and make qualification to the World Championships in September. I would obviously love to qualify, but if I'm completely honest I've exceeded every expectation I set myself this season and that’s before I re-adjusted them due to injury. If my knee was to play up and I was to miss the Worlds there is no doubt I would be gutted but that’s life. That’s racing and that’s being an athlete. You've just got to sit back and reassess your goals and that is what I will do. Times like this just make you even more motivated and hungry for more. Looking towards 2018 I've got some little and big targets in my mind which I will be sharing with you shortly. 

A big shoutout and thank you to all my sponsors for their constant support and help to make sure I am able to do everything I do to the best of my ability be it equipped with the right kit or keeping me in tip top condition for racing and training. 
Pedal Potential
Sam Farmer
Excel Physiotherapy
Zone 3
Swim Canary Wharf
Vorgee UK
Max Curle 
The Body Therapy Company 

Keep an eye out for the next blog where I will hopefully have something very exciting to share with you. In the meantime you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@sammileham) for some shorter snappier updates. 

Thank you for reading. All the best,

Sam
​


Gold!

7/1/2017

 
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Name: European Sprint Triathlon Championships 2017 
Date: Sunday 25th June 2017
Venue: Dusseldorf, Germany 
Distance: 750m Swim/20.4km Bike/5km Run

European Champion. I cannot believe it. It still doesn't seem real. What a day! So, how did it happen? It’s a very good question and if you asked me I would probably reply with “I don't know.” My coach might say I deserved it. My parents say you've worked nine years for this. This blog hopefully will give an insight into how it happened. 


Saturday 24th June. 
The day before the race. I had a little swim in the river looking at the course and swim exit, how I might start and got used to the warmth of the water as it was 24C. Obviously I was not wearing a wetsuit in anticipation, but deep down I was hoping the water temperature would drop. I then had a little spin in the hotel gym on the static bikes and went to eat my standard pre race meal…Chicken! I said goodnight to my parents and the lights went out. 


Sunday 25th June
Race Day. I woke up, had a coffee with two shots, cheerios and some water. I then headed down to complete the rest of my transition, as the bike had to be left there over night. Walking out of the hotel, it was chilly, it was damp and the roads were slippery. I knew the bike course could be a bit dangerous and I started to hear rumours that wetsuits might be allowed. Sure enough they were! The chilly air temperature meant that we were allowed wetsuits. I was a very happy bunny. Our wave was the U25’s, so it made for some good extra competition. 
I got ready and headed down to the start. I ate my energy bar, downed an energy gel and warmed up. I was feeling pretty relaxed, chatting to the other GB guys and just having a laugh. As soon as they said you can head to the pontoon I went into race mode. The horn sounded. I sprinted away into the lead. I had visualised myself leading the Europeans some nights before, a little goal I set myself, but it was weird that it was happening for real. I had over a 10 metre lead after 300m. After the first buoy the pack of three behind started to catch me and joined me turning into the final two buoys. One Brit overtook me but I wasn’t too worried. I knew I was still in contention. I’m sure I exited the swim in under 10mins, but after 66 steps and a little run the timing mat was finally under my feet so it clocked 10.27. However, at this point I honestly felt rubbish. Running the 670m to my bike I felt horrendous, but I ploughed on and leapt onto my bike. I suddenly felt a whole lot better. I was in 3rd for half of the bike, but then slipped back down to about 9th. 
Coming into T2 I sprinted through transition praying my knee would hold up as it’s now been three months without any run training and pain when I do run. In transition I made up 4 places and moved into 5th place. After the first 1km of the run I moved into 4th and was feeling surprisingly good. My knee wasn’t hurting and at the switchback I had a chance to see exactly where I was and who was in front of me. I was 4th, but more importantly I was in gold medal position in my age group! This spurred me on, but made me to check behind as I knew my running wasn’t as strong as normal. I couldn’t see anyone! I kept saying to myself it’s all or nothing, it’s all or nothing. With 400m to go I had another look behind and still there was no one.
Approaching this point I wasn't exactly sure where I was. Let me explain. In first place was actually someone in my age group, however he was from New Zealand…so is he allowed to win the European Championships? 
Nevertheless, I crossed the line screaming, cheering, astonished and delighted at  my position which was either a silver or gold. More importantly I had achieved my goal of getting on the podium at a major championships! I was also the first British person to cross the line! What a day!
It took a good hour or two to see that it was official. I was the European Champion! Wow! There were cheers all round, friends and family and fellow Brits. It was lovely. A day in my life I will never forget. 

I have been overwhelmed with all the kind words from people on social media and I know I have not replied to everyone, but I will be getting onto that soon. I cannot thank you all enough for your support and messages since last Sunday. A massive well done to all the other 29 British medallists including Jonathan, Kiera and Rosie who all secured a medal in the U20 race too. 4/6 on the podium, not bad!

There is no way I would have been able to have reached this podium position on my own. I am very grateful for the support from friends and family, but also from my sponsors. 
A huge thank you to Pedal Potential for their funding, Sam Farmer for supplying me with lots of personal care products, Zone 3 for their super speedy suit getting me the 2nd fastest time in the race and Swim Canary Wharf for coaching me to swim like a fish! I would not have been as comfortable in the swim if it wasn't for Vorgee UK’s Missile FUZE goggles. 
Thank you to Max Curle for his strength and conditioning programmes to keep me up with the best of the best, The Body Therapy Company for their sports oils keeping my muscles warmed up pre race and able to recover quickly post race.
I must thank Excel Physiotherapy a huge amount for the work Gary has put in over the last few months keeping my knee as pain free as possible and making sure it holds up for such important races. Finally, thank you Dermott Hayes for coaching me over the years and getting me this medal. 

I hope you enjoyed this blog and I look forward to writing about next race. I’m sure you will be hearing from me shortly but make sure you follow me on Twitter and Instagram @sammileham for regular updates!

​Happy training,

Sam

Race Times
Swim: 10:27mins
T1: 03:02mins
Bike: 33:54mins
T2: 01:37mins
Run: 17:49
Total: 1:06:47

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