So, its almost November and racing season here in WA is slowly kicking off. For me, it starts on the 3rd with the first of a three race series. The Exceed Super Series held across various venues between now and Christmas consists of short sharp draft legal racing in the format of Super League mixing up the order of swimming, biking and running over the shorter distances. It will be a really exciting race and something new and fun for this early part of my season. I won't be trying to 'peak' for this series however, I am not too bothered about racing hard and fast until March when I will have my first block of racing with the National Series. Until then I may do the odd race to see how training is going and to see where I'm at, but really I just want to get my head down and train hard. And work hard. For those that remember the end of the last blog I was searching for a job, and to yours and my relief, I found one. So come visit me in Sunglass Hut Westfield Carousel and I'll sort you out with a brand new pair of sunnies :).

I did have a little track race over the weekend thinking about it. Okay, maybe not so little. It was a special event put on by Athletics WA and Front Runner Performance to attempt to be the first to break the 14minute barrier in WA by a West Australian. Obviously, I wasn't quite going to be at the pointy end, but I was honoured to be starting and going for a Personal Best.

The gun went and pretty quickly the pace was high. However, I made sure that I wasn't going to get caught and maintained the target pace I had set with my coach. 70second laps were the goal. I was on pace and felt super strong for the first 2km. I also had someone else who was almost pace making me right in front which helped massively. At about 3km I felt the pace slow a bit, and I also started to struggle. 70second laps were slipping to 72 seconds and 73. I knew I had to go round the person in front, but I was also on my limit. With 1.2km to go I thought I had to take it up myself so I went round and surged. We had done a 1200m in training last week, so I said to myself just fight through the last 3 laps. My lap times dropped a little but I had done a few laps a bit slow so the sub 15 was gone. It was definitely going to be a PB but by how much. Under 15:30 would be nice, as close to 15 as possible I would love! Crossing the line and with nothing left at all, my time was 15:21. I was so happy, a 30second PB, I was over the moon!! 
It was great to see so many people come down and watch the race, friends from Eclipse, family and all the other people who just wanted to see some good racing, I really appreciate it! Unfortunately, the 14minute barrier wasn't broken, but  training partner Matt Ramsden, still set a record for the fastest time ran in WA by a West Australian at 14:03. Kudos indeed. Time to focus on project sub15, hopefully we can break that barrier by this time next year!

With regards to the block of racing I spoke about in March earlier on, that all kicks off with the Oceania Sprint Championships in Devonport, Tasmania. I did this race last season so I'm looking forward to going back and hoping to improve on that performance. Following that, I may be heading abroad for a few weeks, but that's just a possibility. However, I will be heading over east to the Gold Coast for a couple of races in April so for all my fans there I expect a warm welcome. 

Whats going on now? Well, its my birthday tomorrow, so I will be having a little celebration for that, nothing big, just me and...well, maybe someone might celebrate with me, who knows. I'll probably be asleep by 8pm so it could be a party without me. 

Until next time (wherever that may be, or may not, there should be some big news). Have a great few weeks, enjoy training, enjoy Halloween and enjoy looking at the pictures below. 

Adios, Sam. 

As always a massive thank you for the continued support from the people below. It would be so much harder to do what I do without them.
Pedal Potential 
Sam Farmer
Zone 3
Vorgee
Rocktape

The first question I need to answer with this blog is one many people have asked before I went on this trip, “where is Kyrgyzstan?” Well, it’s south of Kazakhstan, north of Tajikistan, east of Uzbekistan and west of China. Hope that answered your question!
 
I flew via Moscow into Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyzstan) and then was driven 4 hours into the mountains up to an altitude of 1600m to the town of Cholpon-Ata, on the shores of the Issyk-Kul Lake. The race was held in the Kapriz resort where we were staying. A lot of new information and names I know, I hope I haven't lost you. Phew!
 
Obviously, I’ve never been to this country or town before, so I had no idea what to expect and if I did have any expectations they were blown away by how beautiful the place was. The resort was stunning, and the lake was breath-taking (and that’s not because of the altitude). The lake was just insane, freshwater and crystal clear, mountains in the backdrop, it was splendid. I arrived the day before race day, purely because this was what they offered in terms of accommodation but looking back on it I should have come a week earlier to acclimatise, but that’s a lesson learnt for the next race I have at altitude. 
 
On to race day. A few things took us all by surprise. Firstly, we did not expect the weather to be as hot as it was, 30C+ degrees and secondly was the course. In the description the ride was described as ‘flat and fast’. Well it was anything but. There was a steep hill out of the resort and then the out and back laps were downhill one way and up the other! Not so flat. Thankfully the lake was flat … we thought. 
I did my usual prerace warm ups and drills, racked my bike and headed for the start. The horn sounded almost the same time as ‘on your marks’ was said and we were diving into the water, without wetsuits. Straight away the swim was brutal. I was battered from both sides and then from the front and behind, but I fought my way through. I also felt the lack of oxygen with my breathing instantly, I was gasping for air in the first few 100metres. The first turn was just a dunking, whoever you are, do not dunk me again, I’m ready for revenge. The stretch between the two turning buoys I was constantly being hit from behind by the same bloke, I was getting so mad I almost stopped to dunk him like he did to me, but I restrained myself and managed to find some clear water on the way back. I came out of the water in 9:32, another consistent swim which I was happy with although running up to T1 (which was 300m up hill) I knew I had some ground to make up. 
Jumping onto the bike I immediately found myself with 3 Kazakhs, a Russian and a Belorussian. It was quickly established we were the chase pack of about 6 and there was a lead pack of around 9 or 10 ahead. However, the Kazakhs just looked at each other whenever they were at the front and could not understand how rolling through worked. It was ever so frustrating. I tried a half-hearted breakaway at one point but knew I wasn't going to close the gap alone. Thankfully after 1 of 3 laps we started to roll through a bit and we were rolling fast. We were catching the lead pack and on the last lap we did…I say we…but me and one Kazakh didn’t. I had just finished my turn, a sizeable effort to try and close the final few metres. We were almost on the back and as we did the u-turn up the hill the other guys all accelerated to the group, but my legs were cooked. I tried so damn hard to stay and hook on the back but failed. I did manage to hold the gap I had between them for a while, but then it grew to 100 metres or so. I wasn't out but it was annoying that’s for sure. At every race I’m learning and getting better.  To have been that close to the lead pack, I have to take many positives from that ride. I rode well, and I rode smart, if I may say so (except for that last little bit, I know).
Heading out on the run I was pretty wasted. The run course was 4 laps, with a hill each lap, two dead turns and 7 other corners per lap. It was tight, technical and very demanding. There was nowhere you could get into a rhythm, it was always down or up or a turn. I tried my best to catch someone but didn't succeed. My lungs were bedbug stretched to their limit and my legs were being worked overtime. 
Coming into the finish I had no idea where I was placed or what my time was. The aim was to finish in the top 20 and within 5% of the winner and then pick up ITU points which contribute to a world ranking and help me get into bigger and better races. Later that night I discovered I had finished 15th! My best Continental Cup result to date, I wasn't going to complain about that!  However, when I worked out the timings I found I was 0.95% outside the time limit. Gutted to say the least, but that’s how it goes I guess. 15th, my best ever finish, I am more than happy with that, and I know the points will come in due course whether at my next race or next year, I’m not too bothered as I have many years ahead of me. This is only my first year chasing points, it’s not rush hour. Time for once is on my side. 
 
After the race we had some time to enjoy the beautiful country we were lucky to visit. Mike, Tommy, Valerio and I got together and decided we should rent a sauna on the pier. The only spot available was half past midnight to half past one in the morning. Who cares, it was a yes! What a good decision too! It was an awesome night of jumping between the sauna, the lake and tea drinking. Afterwards we watched the Russia v Croatia game with many Russian supporters which was a good laugh. 
 
I really cannot thank the Kyrgyzstan Triathlon Federation for putting on an amazing show at a spectacular venue, it really made the trip worthwhile and made us fall in love with Kyrgyzstan. I hope they are able to put it on again next year as it would definitely be worth going back! Check out some of the pictures below to see what the location was like. 
 
As always, my sponsors are always backing me and are always there for me. I am really grateful for their support, they made a huge difference. Thank you! 
 Pedal Potential 
Sam Farmer
Zone 3
Vorgee
Rocktape
 
My next race is the ASTC Almaty Sprint Asian Cup in Kazakhstan where I am heading very soon  Another new country which I am super excited and super lucky to be able to visit. 
 
Have a great week everyone. Good luck to any of you enthusiastic readers if you are racing next weekend and a huge thank you for reading my blog and following my progress. 
 
Thanks again,
 
Sam

I was really lucky to get on the start list of the Premium European Cup in Holten, The Netherlands. I originally didn't make it, but a week or two later received an email confirming I was on the start list and that was amazing! This was great news too, as Aleisha, who had travelled over from Australia with me, was already on the start list for her Junior European Cup race. 
The drive over was pretty rubbish, we’ve driven to Holland many times in the past to see friends for holidays, but this was the worst ever. There was traffic everywhere and took us over 10 hours. And we had no air conditioning. It wasn't pleasant but on Thursday evening we finally made it. Once dinner was devoured it was time to hit the hay for the night. 

The next morning I got up to do a little run session before the rest of the day started. Once running was over Aleisha and I cycled down to the lake where we did our swim familiarisation and got a cheeky picture with Richard Murray (see below!). Once that was over it was straight on our bikes and we checked out the bike course. This was one we needed to look at as it was a 9km ride to the town where we did 2 laps of 6km which included a ‘hill’. The Netherlands is super flat so hearing there was a hill was interesting. They weren't wrong though, it was a pretty decent climb but nothing to be scared of. The rest of the route was fast, but at times pretty technical including a nice cobbled section. Lastly we had our briefings which were standard. Nothing much to worry about, the odd silly question and the rush at the end to collect your race packet. Sadly no race gift. I managed to find the usual pre-race dinner of chicken at our hotel which was very yummy indeed. After a bit of time getting everything ready and chilling in our rooms, we went to bed and dreamt about the race ahead. 

The morning of the race was pleasant. The summer over here has been like an Australian spring so I’ve been enjoying it for sure. I cycled over to T2 to drop our run trainers off and then over to T1 to drop the bike off and get ready for the start. I did my usual warm up jog, run throughs and drills, said good luck to Aleisha and then trotted off to the start pontoon, picking my place and getting ready for the start horn. 

Diving into the 21.5C water (non wetsuit obviously) I immediately got bashed from both sides. But i kept my cool and sat in the draft of the other athletes. I felt really strong in the first 310m (distance to the first buoy). Turning was pretty calm and I was right on the middle of everyone so I was dragged along and still in amongst it all. The final turn to head home was brutal, i was dunked, i breathed much water and had to gather myself but thankfully I was still with everyone and still felt super strong. Putting a big effort in the last 200metres I exited in 9:16 in 55th place…but crucially I was with everyone and in the middle of a massive pack. This is where things started to go downhill. 
I mounted and went straight into the back of someone who did a ‘bus stop mount’ which cost me time. I was chasing and chasing to get on the back of the chase pack and I got there! Yippee! Not quite. I thought now I should put my feet in my bike shoes…but as I looked up from doing so the Dutch guy in front lost the wheel and therefore so did I and that was the end of that. Frustrating but its the way it goes, so I ended up waiting and cycling the rest of the ride in a group of 5. Also annoying to know that chase pack ended up catching the lead pack. 
On to the run now. I’ll keep it short because it was pretty bad. Stitches all the way round, my legs barely functioned and I just could not get into my rhythm so I crossed the line in what would end up being 63rd. 

Looking back at the race there were some huge positives. I was racing in the biggest race of my life and I nailed the swim. I was right where I want to be. Negatives, were that I had a bit of misfortune on the bike, choosing the wrong wheel and going into the back of someone and also having a bad run. But there was also some lessons learnt, mainly when to put your feet in your shoes? I’d never been in a pack so big and never really been in that position, I am a bit of a novice in this type of racing still and that probably showed there. 

It definitely wasn't how I wanted to start my European Tour and finish this race but you've got to look at the positives and going into Kyrgyzstan next weekend I’m feeling way more confident about the swim. 

So thats next weekend, a trip to Kyrgyzstan. Make sure you follow my social media (@sammileham) for updates on that trip! Finally thank you to all my sponsors Pedal Potential, Sam Farmer, Zone 3, Vorgee and Rocktape for their continued support as I would not be able to get to all these places and compete at all the races I do without them. Also many thanks to Stu and Bon at Eclipse Performance Centre for coaching me to the level I am now. Thank you! 

Have a great weekend everyone, thanks for reading, 

Sam

*apologies for the lack of photos, I hope I'll have more soon!

For the past 3 months I’ve been a pom living in the land down under. Thankfully I have got 4 more until I return home. Let me rephrase that ... I’ve got 4 months until I return to the UK, I’ve found my new home here in Perth. 

​I came here for a number of reasons. I needed a change. A change of scenery, of people, of weather … but I also had a gap year to fill so thought why not go to Australia and pursue my dream of becoming a professional triathlete. Having gained my Professional U23 licence the other week I’d say its been pretty successful so far. I joined the Eclipse Performance Centre, headed up by Stuart Durham, and I will admit that was probably the best decision of my life. The people there are just amazing. Within a few weeks I felt like I’d been a part of the squad from the beginning. If you're ever in Perth come find us and you won't regret it. I owe it to them for making me feel so at home.

I know haven’t blogged for a while and I apologise, but I’m sure you've been following my social media and seen that I've been training hard and racing a bit as we are deep into the tri season over here in sunny WA. The last two weekends have no doubt been the biggest two weekends of my life with my first two Continental Cups in Glenelg, South Australia and Devonport, Tasmania. 


First up was Glenelg. Many of us lined up to take the horn, which failed the first time round, but once underway it was amazing. Racing against world class athletes that regularly race at WTS level, as well as Olympians, was an experience to remember. The swim was choppy, the bike technical and the run hot. I just missed the last big pack only by a few seconds which was so frustrating, but I ended up in a little group of 3/4 and we did out best to keep with the pace. Despite my Di2 failing on me the night before the race and having to ride on my coaches bike, I was pretty pleased with the ride and how I handled the stress. Jumping off the bike onto the run I didn't feel great. I’d done a lot of work on that bike and suffered finishing in 33rd. With numerous DNF’s and lapping this ended up being a placing quite far down the field. However, I was pleased with the performance. A little more work on the swim and things are looking very promising! Anyway this race was the first at Conti Cup level for me so it was 99% about the experience and getting a feel for this level of racing. 

The most recent race which I have just returned from was the Oceania Sprint Cup and Sprint Triathlon Championships in Devonport. This was the second race at Conti Cup level for me and the field was looking strong. A field of only 26 lined up, but that was a field of 25 other super strong athletes! I definitely had to work hard for a good result in this one. The days leading up to the race were far from ideal, many hours of travelling and noisy neighbours in our hotel meant we were feeling a bit fatigued. However, the food in the local area was nice and my bike was in working order so there were positives. We were called upon the starting line one by one and I chose my favourite position on the far right. The horn went and we ran in, well I tripped as I was running into the ocean, but got up and kept running. As we got close to the first turn of two buoys, the swell became intense. I've never swum in water like that and I started to get dropped from the pack. I really struggled, feeling almost sea sick trying to find my stroke and sighting the buoys. Somehow I made it back to the beach, though a bit off the pace and also in no mans land. I saw two guys up ahead and chased hard to catch them. I'd been told about ‘the hill’ on this course ... it wasn't a hill it was a wall! Only 200m long or so but at a 20% gradient it was hard. I managed to catch them going up the wall, and as the race progressed we caught another athlete making us a group of 4. Arriving in transition I felt surprisingly fresh. A few 100m into the run I made a break and kicked away from the rest of the group. At the 1km mark one of the athletes chased me down and went past at some pace, but I was not going to let him go without a fight. Working together in the headwind and throughout the run we chased and chased athletes ahead of us and put more time into the other athletes we had cycled with. In the final 500m of the run he kicked and I felt almost broken but I had one last surge left which I saved for the final straight and was pretty stoked when I got past him. A run time of 16:40 ... I was very pleased with that. I finished 16th in the U23’s and 19th overall in the Elite Men. I was happy with that result and returned to Perth the next day looking forward to getting stuck back into training and ready for the next race. I’m not sure what this next race will be, but it'll be towards the end of March. Keep an eye out on my social media for regular updates like what race this might be and where! Follow them by clicking the links below!

Twitter - @sammileham
Instagram - @sammileham
Facebook - Sam Mileham

All of this would not be possible without the amazing support of my sponsors Pedal Potential, Sam Farmer, Zone 3 and Vorgee. I’m also really excited to be joining the Rocktape Australia team. I’ve used Rocktape for the last year to combat and prevent my bursitis. It has been crucial to my recovery and prevention and I’m looking forward to working with them!

Keep your eyes peeled for another blog near the end of March. They should be a bit more regular now! 
​
All the best.

Sam.

Part I was about the end of 2017 race season, but it isn't quite the end. I do have something up my sleeve. This is Part II.

On the 13th November I fly to Perth, Western Australia where I will begin my 'winters' training or as they call it out there, summer training. As well as going there to train with a dedicated U23 squad I will hopefully get some racing under my belt in the 2107/18 National U23 Series.

I've got a bit tired of the long cold winters here in England and need a change. I need to do something different. Finishing school I knew I didn't want to go to University just yet so I thought lets take a gap year. Of course I couldn't just take a gap year because I'm a triathlete, I can't just stop training, so I thought why not go to Australia, explore the land down under, but also take the year to train full time and simply see how good I can get.
With aspirations to be an elite triathlete you have to dedicate yourself to the goal 110% and that means sometimes taking drastic action such as moving to the other side of the world to train. If that's what it takes, then so be it. 

I will be back for the 2018 British race season, but as the World Championships in 2018 are on the Gold Coast, I won't be spending too long back here. Who knows what the future holds for me after 2018, but I can assure you all I am 100% committed to achieving my targets and I have a great team of people both here and in Australia that are committed to helping me get to where I want to be. 

There are so many people I have to thank for supporting me thus far, it has been one hell of a journey over the past 9 years moving from Tri Stars to Youth and Junior, but this is the end of an era. This is the end of Juniors. In reality, this is only the beginning. The start of U23, the start of the Senior ranks. 

Tri Sport Epping, Roding Valley Tri, Havering Tri, Romford CC, Hornchurch Swimming Club, Dagenham 88 Runners are just some of the clubs I have to thank for helping me throughout the past 9 years. 
My sponsors have been the most supportive sponsors I could ask for and have been brilliant. Mark at Pedal Potential, Sam Farmer, Gary from Excel Physiotherapy, Zone 3, Ray from Swim Canary Wharf, Vorgee UK & Max Curle. My coach Dermott Hayes. He has been invaluable coaching me since Youth and I definitely would not be where I am without him. And finally Mum and Dad for everything from day 1. Thank you. 

I'll keep you posted,

Sam

This is Part I. And if you're wondering what this means then keep reading. Then keep an eye out for Part II and you'll see. The next two blogs are about the end of my season. I finished off 2017 with two races, The World Championships and The VOTWO Eton Triathlon, the latter of which I won and won't go into detail as it was only a small race to test out some new gear for what lies ahead. What I will tell you about is The World Championships. Arguably the biggest race of the year for sure...and this is how it went. 

We arrived Wednesday evening staying with some friends in The Hague. First thing we noticed was the weather. Strong winds, heavy rain and cold. Bit different from Cozumel that's for sure. On Thursday the wind was even worse and when I went to do a swim practice the water was so choppy! Friday brought less wind but constant rain. I'd planned to maybe ride to the beach and back but that went out the window. Saturday was pre race day and even though the wind had died down the rain still wasn't letting up. I rode bits of the bike course to see what it was like and in the rain it was pretty slippery in the corners, but otherwise I liked it. Lots of people had complained about how dangerous it was but they were talking nonsense if I'm honest. I had my pre race chicken dinner and was feeling fresh and ready to race. 

Sunday. Race day. It was different to a normal race day, mainly because I got to sleep in as my race start time was  4:05pm. I do like a late start so was happy with that time. We had to rack and set up transition around 1pm so I met up with some other GB U20's and did that together. The weather by now had dried up and the sun was shining, a complete contrast to the last few days! 

Entering the water was a bit chilly, but once you were swimming it was perfect. The horn went and we were off. I got a good start, I was pretty close to the front and hung on to some guys feet. Rounding the buoys and heading back to the exit ramp I knew I was in a pretty good position, but a gap was opening up in front of me. I worked hard to close the gap towards the end and made sure I exited with the group in under 10minutes. Transition was almost a 500m run away, I pushed the run hard knowing that once onto the bike I could sit back and catch my breath. However, for the first time ever I couldn't find my bike! I was going crazy, I had no idea where it was. After a few seconds of panic which felt like minutes I found it and could finally get going. Those few seconds cost me the lead group so I ended up in the chase pack. We could see the lead group for most of the bike, but annoyingly we just couldn't catch them. We ended up losing time as the other countries weren't interested in working, they were skipping turns too much, but I was happy with how I executed it considering the lack of work and I really enjoyed the course! 
There was one downside though...from about 5km in on the bike I knew I had a stitch and was feeling skeptical about how the run would go. With a minute between us and the leaders I knew I would be able to catch some people when on top form, but once I exited T2 I had cramps in both calf muscles. I spent a good few km's getting rid of those only to then get a stitch. With 1km to go I felt great, but by then it was too late. I settled for where I was and that was 21st. 

Looking back I know there were positives, most notably the swim where I was 13th out of the water and 26 seconds off the lead. I know that a podium is not an unrealistic goal from where I was on the bike and I know that I haven't had a good year of running with 0 run training since March due to my knee. With some running under my belt, and a good year of training I think aiming for the podium next year is realistic and that is what I will put all of my efforts towards. 
I'm really grateful for the continued support of my sponsors who have allowed my to race and train at my best through 2017. I would not have been able to achieve anything like I have without Pedal Potential, Sam Farmer, Excel Physiotherapy, Zone 3, Swim Canary Wharf, Vorgee UK & Max Curle. They all support me in many different ways but together they are the team behind me and together we can achieve great things! 

So that is 2017 done. Time to put the feet up for a bit and then put in some hard graft through the long cold winter... or do I have something else up my sleeve? Keep an eye out for Part II which I will post very soon.