Author: Josh Haas

Josh and Devin here; every year we participate in the Battle Creek Corporate Cup time predict cycling event. This is a fantastic event that allows even the slowest cyclists the chance to truly compete. The premise behind this event is each rider submits their predicted time over a 10 mile course ahead of race day. The route is ridden with no computers or watches so it’s important to know how to pace and attempt to finish the 10 miles as close to the predicted time as possible.

While riders can go at any pace, we treat this like a time trial, go all out and suffer the 10 miles for the fastest time possible. This year, Devin and I teamed up and treated this like a mini team time trial. We rocketed away from the start and started faster than normal to gain some space between us and the other riders also attempting a fast ride. It paid off and even after we got into our rhythm, we just kept spreading out the field. We ride a lot together so this ride went very well for us. We smoked the 10 miles with around a 25mph avg which was a bit slower than we wanted but given the winds and rainy conditions, we were very pleased. We crossed the line together and came in first which made for a great start to both of our days. =)

-Josh Haas & Devin Winton

Josh here; we headed to the UP for our normal September trip but this year we went a touch earlier which meant we were in the Pictured Rocks area while the Grand Marais Tri was going on. I’ve been doing a fair amount of Duathlons but decided this would be my first full Tri. Being a sprint, it was a good first choice and I hoped the work I have been doing in the pool pay off.

The only rough part about this tri is the swim split is in Lake Superior. BRRRRR is correct! The temp was somewhere between 58 and 60 degrees but swimming everyday during our trip prior to the race really helped take the shock value out of it. The race began and the 300 yard swim didn’t take too long to complete but I was sure ready to be back on land running up the hill. I came out somewhere around 10th to 12th overall and not wearing a wetsuit paid off as I passed at least three in transition (and I never saw them again). I was ready to get on my rocket and start hitting the hilly terrain in the beautiful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This was definitely the nicest bike route in a race I’ve ever enjoyed!

I passed a few more on the bike and entered the run split in 5th overall. I estimate running around a 23min 5K and with no one catching me, I ended 5th overall and first in my age group. I am very pleased with my first full tri and will likely do more in the future. This would be my last official race of the season, however I’m looking forward to the Battle Creek Corporate Cup time predict ride. I treat this like a time trial and go all out. This year, Devin and I will be riding this together as a mini team TT working together. It should be an absolute blast…

-Josh Haas

Josh here; coming off a great win at Shermanator, my confidence was back and I was ready to smoke it at Cereal City. This is a great new race sponsored by our great Team Active Cycling & Fitness shop and also brings out a ton of WSI Racers.

It was another beautiful morning and I was set for another Du. Last year I placed second overall. With longer runs, if swift runners are at this race it’s hard to gain enough time on the bike split, even averaging over 23mph, to keep enough space for a win. That is exactly what happened last year.

While runners started out faster than me, I just tried to keep them in sight. Unfortunately, one was fast enough that even with my decent bike split, I would only have enough in me if he ran a slow second run and he did not! This guy ran 20min 5Ks and compared to my 23min 5Ks the four plus minutes I gained on him on the bike just wasn’t enough.

Overall, I placed 2nd and improved my times from last year so I am very pleased. Another great race is in the books and it was great seeing all the WSI participation and some of our sweet sponsors out there supporting (Team Active Cycling & Fitness and McCullough Chiropractic).

-Josh Haas

Josh Haas here; if anyone has ever had a bad day of racing, they will relate to my performance in the Gull Lake Duathlon.  My first run went well and I was feeling strong into the bike leg which is my strongest discipline.  Knowing I still had a 10k run ahead of me and some hills on the back part of the bike course, I backed off hoping to leave enough in the tank.  Even with that, I was in 3rd position coming off the bike with high hopes of hitting the podium with Danny (knowing he’d likely do well).  That goal was shattered about a mile and a half into the second run when severe cramps took hold and refused to let go.  Not willing to give up, I began taking breaks and walking when necessary. 

Having recently been working through some knee issues, my running has been non-existent for the past few weeks.  I had hoped my base would sail me through the race ok but at the Olympic distance, I think that was probably a bad decision.  Having said that, I did finish (with roughly half of my second run being walked) and while this affected me mentally I did walk away looking at it as a great learning experience.

While this was my worst showing in a race yet, I still finished and felt that was the right thing to do to properly represent the WSI team.  A special thanks to the Katie Bridges for her encouragement during the second run and a huge thank you as always to Obewon (Danny) for being the consummate team mentor/coach.

-Josh