Xterra Worlds Recap

A few days have gone by and I have had some time to digest all the things that went down on race day. I would say I had a total Xterra experience of heat, hills, and ass-kicking.

Chaos of the swim

The few days leading up to the race are a blur now that I think back. I was focusing most of my nervous energy on trying to heal my sprained ankle (or contemplating dropping out) and trying to escape the heat. With some helpful sport therapy from my friend and training partner Clay, we decided my ankle would be alright, as long as I didn't fall on my bike or turn sharp corners on the run. A tough call when it is an extreme mountain course to maneuver! I ended up taping most of the ankle with Rock Tape to keep it rigid and limit more roll-overs.

I felt that I had a great swim arriving at the beach within the second main group and ran up the hill into the first transition. After a smooth and effortless swim-bike transition I completed a blistering 24km of the 32km mountain bike course passing people most of the way but in my mind not over-doing it. At the 24km mark, just before the second bike aid-station, my left hamstring (sprained ankle side) started giving signs that something was not right. You know that feeling like it is "going to cramp" well, that was showing up every little uphill surge. Soon after I was cramping every time I lightly pedalled uphill. And with 4000+ ft vertical, especially in the last 10km, there were some doozies to get through. Initially I had to stop and stretch out my hamstrings and I downed my last electrolyte gel and salt tab. I walked the hills and rolled the flats for the next 4km dropping approximately 15-20minutes in the process. I finally cruised into the second transition happy to have that over with. I downed a few cups of electrolyte drink and flushed myself with ice water. The first 500m of the run started alright but then the hamstrings and quads cramped again for the next 3km and I had to walk/jog or else I would seize up. I just shuffled along like a guy who couldn't lift his feet off the ground for the first 4km dropping another 10-15 minutes. After some time and 3-4 litres of electrolyte and water at the aid stations I regained composure and was able to actually run with some speed for the next 6km and ran fairly hard passing a handful of people. Until... I hit the sand section. 

Start of the 10km trail run

Think standing crabwalk with spastic pauses due to cramping. Due to the angle of the beach and my left hamstring seizing with any excessive shortening, I literally could not move forward. So, I improvised and started a left leg forward cross-over to run crab style, with all my humility, I was completely at capacity. I, however, didn't care too much, I was 300m from the finish. I just barely squeaked in before collapsing to the ground with medical aid putting ice water and towels on me. 

Official Results here. 

2015 XTERRA World Championship Highlights from XTERRA TV on Vimeo.

I always like to write down the top things I did well in the race and top things I totally need to re-think.

The good stuff:

- maximizing recovery from a bad ankle sprain five days prior

- controlling nerves before the race with excellent sleeps leading up to and including the night before

- maintaining my cool with all the hype on race morning

- having a nutrition plan that in theory was rock solid

- a solid swim and efficient transitions

- regaining muscle function mid-race after complete cramping

The not-so-good-stuff:

- not treating my tight muscles before the race from compensating for the ankle sprain

- dropping a gel mid bike and not picking up a replacement at the aid station

- not having 2 water bottles for the ride or knowing how much I would need due to sweating 

After going through these items I have a better feeling about how the race went. I certainly had a lot to learn from racing in these hot ass-kicking conditions. I'm content with my race results but I have so much more to accomplish here!

I want to give a shout out to Mike and Jordan at THE BROKEN SPOKE, my bike shop guys, who hooked me up with a light race bike and made sure it was race ready. My swim coaches Lynday and Leanne with PACE Multisport. And my shoe people at Extreme Runners in Courtenay.

Clay and I post race and after cooling down

Xterra Tapering

The taper has started - the best part of training!

The off-road triathlon World championships party has started. Four days of pre-race festivities on Maui at the Xterra Expo with all the sponsors and vendors showing the latest and greatest gear or technical clothing. It is all with a crowd of 1000+ athletes super anxious and happy to be here. It's funny to see some athletes scrambling to get a race advantage with a "lighter water bottle holder" or "less rolling resistance tire tread" and arguing which is best. I know I have the best so I don't need to argue... Haha kidding. Or maybe not.

I was able to scope out the beach where the swimming portion of the race happens. There was a big storm that was pushing 8-10 foot waves crashing on shore and it looked quite dangerous to try and "practice" a running entry & exit without doing some personal damage or getting sucked out by a riptide. The water is forecasted to calm in the next few days. I rode the bike course, well the first 5km and the last 8km, today and enjoyed it. It has tons of climbing and a bunch of quick switchbacks and narrow zigzags to get through. The mud is slimy and very slick - it is called "Maui ice" and I can see why.

The big reason why I wanted to get on the bike course today was because I unfortunately severely sprained my ankle two days ago... I was out on a very easy run finishing up a course Recon and on a mini downhill and a slippery root I ripped myself a new one and crashed head-first into the thick forest. I instantly felt nauseous with that body grip of pain, I checked my ankle and it had immediate swelling and throbbing with pain. The scary thought was that I felt and heard a snap or pop. Is it broken? Are the ligaments torn? My mind was racing and not sure what to do. After a few minutes I was able to hobble out the last kilometre and put my ankle in the ocean to cool off a bit.

Bruising and swelling showed up the first day, as expected. After ruling out a full fracture or worse- a ligament tear, I have hit the full gamut of Sports-Med protocols for fast recovery: P.R.I.C.E. Protect, rest, ice, compress, and elevate is the topic of the last few days and my wife is tired of hearing about it, I'm sure! I've also done some light effleurage massage and graston therapy to flush the swelling out. I've been heavily supplementing with Fish oils, Vit. B's and tons of veggies. My last approach is with hydration: Water...and some ice cold brew. The last item might be the best for my mind- I have to realize I'm here on vacation. On a side note my new favourite beer is the Maui Brewing coconut porter! 

Two more days and it's go time! It's all just tapering now and enjoying the experience. I'm going to test out my ankle running tomorrow to see if it's even possible. For now, I'm enjoying time with my family here.

Off Road triathalon Worlds

The Xterra Off-Road triathlon World Championships will be in Maui on Sunday, Nov. 1st, 2015. For the past few years I have been hoping to qualify and attend. This year has come together and I have booked my ticket. I have spent most of the spring and summer getting out for a few rides and runs but now it is time to get serious about putting it all together for the 1500m Ocean swim, 32km mtn bike, and 10km Trail Run. In training for this race a few important items need to be addressed. The first, being the possibility of excessive heat and humidity:

Not that 26-27C is that hot, it is with the 72% humidity that I'm a bit worried about. Trying to train for this has been including the regular Mtn bike, and running sessions, along with some swimming and strength training, all while wearing too many layers. I want to train my body deal with sweating excessively - and being able replenish lost fluids with hydration.

I can hardly contain my excitement for this trip. I want to train all the time... however, I do have other priorities including family and a recent newborn son (that likes to party all night, and sleep all day) and a business, Fit Chiropractic, to keep moving forward. Luckily my amazing and supportive wife has given me the thumbs up to compete and train for this big race (as long as she can join me in Hawaii).

A recent hill working in Cumberland I spend shredding my legs trying to get used to accelerating uphill constantly.


I have been trying to lighten the load with regards to biking (instead of actually loosing weight) I purchased a very light weight bike, a 29" tire hardtail for specifically cross country riding from Mike at The Broken Spoke in Courtenay
In the swimming side of things, I try to get to the pool a few times a week but I feel the open water swimming would be better. It is, though, getting quite cold in the lake or River, and tough to force myself for a workout. Hopefully the week of acclimatization I have given myself in Hawaii to practice open water will suffice.

Fall Seasonal

The rest of the summer was a bit of a tornado with playing with my new baby boy Leo and tons of visitors to hang out with. I was able to compete in a few local events.

1. Comox Nautical Days 4 Miler. Which is BC's oldest road race. I was able to sneak this one in and enjoyed participating in the local CV running club's race. I was only a bit off my time from the year before but I was nipped by the local barefoot legend Robin Poirier. A must do event! During the BC Day Long weekend.

2. Campbell River (Snowden Forest) 50km Challenge. It was a beautiful rolling forest trails with beams of sunshine breaking through the forest. I did the "relay" component but doing both 25km legs of mountain biking and trail running. I will definitely do it again next year.

3. I missed the Waverly Dirt Crit - a bike race through the Waverly pub in Cumberland! Also, the Coal Cross, a cyclocross race at Comox Lake was a legendary tough race in early September.

I have qualified for the Xterra World Championships in Hawaii on November 1st. I'm very excited to be going and have modified my training plan accordingly. The Xterra event is an Off-road triathlon consisting of a 1500m swim in the ocean, 30km mountain bike ride, and a 12 km hilly trail run.

Summer Cap

Summer is here! The days are long and hot. Dust is rising from the trails and there isn't much water in the rivers. I was able to hit a few local races this early summer with some success.

The training this spring and early summer hasn't had the quantity or quality. My recovery from these short, sporatic training sessions is almost non existence. And I'm okay with this... My wife and I had a new baby born mid June! Super happy baby boy with a big appetite.
This creates a huge change in time spent with focussed training but I'm happy with how everything has been so far.

The little Lion man 

Because the baby was a week late being born I was able to sneak in an active weekend winning both the 12hrs of Cumberland Mtb race with a 4 person team and the Country Roads 1/2 Marathon the following day. It was an extra bonus because I really felt I would be in Dad-mode that early June weekend.

Descending in the 12hrs of Cumberland 

The "A" Race of the summer was definately the Victoria Xterra on July 5th. It is a regional qualifier for Xterra World Championships in Hawaii in November. I really wanted to win my category to get the ticket for Worlds. My wife gave me the thumbs up that we could go (if I qualified).b

A few unknown athletes were in the starting gates setting up their bike when I arrived (late). As with any race, I want to size up the competition and see what my they look like. Are they fit, what gear are they using, what does there facial expression say... Everything adds to the picture and motivates me to convince myself I can match them, if not beat them!

The swim was not wet-suit legal, meaning the water temperature was above 22 C and we couldn't wear our efficient wetsuits. I felt that I had practised enough without a wetsuit for it to not bother me - but it did. I was  3.5 minutes slower than last year and it felt sloppy and ugly out there. I now needed to make up some time on the bike and run. I tuned my bike with lighter gear for efficiency but it is hard to make up 4 minutes in a race.

In the end, after the dusty technical ride and run, I ended up third overall. But, the first two athletes were considered "Elites" and I was given the first spot. I barely pulled it off because I was having leg cramping for the last climb on the bike and most of the run. It was a "damage control" type of finish.  I think it was due to the heat and humidity but it also could be that I pushed it too hard at the beginning of the bike to catch-up.

I'm happy to say that I was able to give it my all. But, I have lots of work to do if I want to be competitive in extra hot Maui for the Xterra World Championships in November.

The next race in the calendar is possibly the Campbell River 50k Challenge - 25km of Mountain Biking and 25km of Running (or any combo of that solo or with a relay team). Would it be better to bike 25km first or run? Hard to say.

After that, the classic Cumberland MOMAR Adventure Race is happening on Sept. 26th this year. I'm on a two person team and ready to hammer it.

Follow along on Strava:

Lets get out for a run or a bike together! Get in touch  Fit Chiropractic and Sport Therapy.

2015 Races

The summer race season is just around the corner and much work has been done to get to this point. It does, however, never seem like I have not done enough - I always feel like I should have put a few extra long runs in or got a few more strength sessions at the gym to build power. Alas, it is here. I just finished my 2015 Island Race series cap during the Merville 15k on April 12th. I had a wonderful set of races except for one complete "BLOW UP" at the Comox Valley Half which had dropped my points just below the overall series win. It is a bit of a burn but it is what keeps me coming back for more and motivated to get better. I feel that I bounced back fairly quickly and was able to come out the end of the series at the same or better fitness level than last year. I will be at ready for the rest of the summer events, in the following order: (if you see something that is cool, send it my way!)

Apr. 25th - Tsolum River Race (Cycling) 60 or 80km race around the country roads of Merville.
Apr. 26th - Snow to Surf (9 Stage relay race from Mt. Washingtin through Comox Lake to paddling across the Comox Bay. My team is the "Thor's Hammer'd" and we hope to put some work on the old guard in town.
May 3rd - Nanimo XC race (Mtn Biking) Mid-island cross country.
May 10th - 6 hrs of Maple (Mtn Biking) A endurance feast! In Duncan and along the amazing trails.
May 24th Tri -K (Triathlon) Comox Valley fun race starting at the Sports Centre Pool and finishing on the track.
May 24th 12hrs of Cumberland Marathon (Mtn Biking) - In teams of 4, 2 or solo. A festival of fun.
May 31st - XC Championships Campbell River (Mtn Biking) - The finals in the Snowden trail network.
June 14th - Country Roads Marathon (Comox Valley 1/2 and full Marathon) A revisit of an old race right here in the beautiful Comox Valley.

July 5th - XTERRA Victoria - (Off-road Triathlon) The classic and my "A" Race.

Sept. 26th - MOMAR (Adventure Race) Kayaking, orienteering, mtn biking, running etc. A day of fun!

Follow along on Strava:

Call my office Fit Chiropractic and Sport Therapy at 250.871.3674 or email derek@drvinge.com

2015 Early Race Season

The 2015 edition of the Island Race Series us underway and some friendly and fierce competition has been seen. I truly enjoy getting out and seeing familiar faces and meeting new people at each race. The Comox Valley Road Runners have represented well. We are currently in 2nd place standings as a club on the Island.

Vancouver Half Marathon - Photo Pacific Road Runners

My next running races are:

Bazan Bay 5km March 8th
Comox Valley RV Half Marathon March 22nd
Merville River Runners 15km - April 5th
Series Finale Sooke River 10km - April 18th

Also, upcoming is the Island Cup mountain bike races!

Fit Chiropractic is Moving.