Dirty South Roubaix: First Race of the Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour—Lessons, Grit, and an Orange Tutu
The first race of the Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour is in the books.
I finished the Dirty South Roubaix in Alto Pass, Illinois, a 100km gravel race that happened on March 1.
I had no heart issues.
I wore the orange tutu and orange antenna to celebrate the fundraising milestone. (We’ve raised $1,000 already for pediatric heart care at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.)
More on that later.
Results are Kind of Irrelevant
Really, the results of the race, (I fnished in 4:19, 15th among 50 60-69 year olds, and 155th of 372 riders overall) are pretty irrelevant today.
My sole goal was to finish the race in decent shape, not crawling to the line on my hands and knees!
I felt pretty good the whole race, surprisingly strong up the climbs, and steady on the flats.
Despite a 70 degree day yesterday for the pre-ride, it was only 40 and windy, so it was a bit chilly!
And while my heart rate got up pretty high on some of the climbs, it was always in a reasonable and appropriate zone. No ventricular tachycardia!
Dirty South Roubaix is a Tough Course!
The Dirty South Roubaix course is challenging, with tons of short, steep hills (14 to 28 percent on gravel), and several long grinding five-percent average climbs.
Everyone had to get off their bikes and hike the 28 percent climb because it was so rutted!
It had a nice mix of dirt roads, fire roads that were barely roads, and pavement.
There were several creek crossings as well!
I was here three years ago, and the course had changed quite a bit, including a brutal climb up to the finish.
The wind felt like it was always a head wind, which I know isn’t possible.
Lessons for the Next Race
- Bring my own coffee and pot. Hotel coffee is notoriously unpredictable. My hotel’s coffee was awful.
- Check gears. I don’t know how to adjust my electronic SRAM gears. And I didn’t have to use the smallest gears on my pre-ride, so I hadn’t run through all of them. I couldn’t shift into the smallest gear, and the top three were skipping, making the really steep climbs tough to manage.
- Bring the hydration pack. I was doubting myself (see next item) about the hydration pack when I saw a lot of riders not using one. So I left it in the van. When I stopped at the aid stations, I lost two solid working groups of riders.
- Trust yourself. I heat up quickly in races, but that leaves the waiting before the start to freeze. It was 35 degrees and windy at the start so deciding what to wear was a challenge. I had planned out the kit the night before knowing the temperature and the conditions. I sat in the van watching all the other riders in heavier jerseys and full tights or leg warmers. I took everything off, thinking I was going to be too cold, then put it all back on. The kit ended up perfect: long underwear t-shirt, jersey, wind vest, fleece arm warmers, bib shorts, knee warmers, and a thermal hat. I started with chemical warmers in my gloves, but ended up taking those out too!
- Keep the pre-ride the day before short. In my defense, I got to ride outside in shorts and a jersey for the first time this year in 70 degrees. It was windy but beautiful. But I rode for two hours and did quite a bit of climbing. Typically, I’m doing an hour with two one-minute efforts to open the legs. It was just so nice outside!
Race Notes and Observations
- Because we’ve raised $1,000, my first milestone was to race in a costume. I chose an orange tutu with orange antenna, frankly because I had no idea what else to do on the bike. Even the tutu was awkward! What was interesting was to observe the reactions of others. I had some great comments, like “Is that tutu aerodynamic?” No, it decidedly is not. And “You’re so purty.” I told him I felt purty too. Some riders, though, seemed to not want to ride with me. Maybe I’d interfere with their pictures or just though it was weird. Several riders seemed to try and drop me once I joined their group of two or three. I don’t know, maybe I was imagining it! The next milestone if painting my face. I honestly have no idea how that’s going to happen. Maybe we’ll skip right to the burpees for $1,500! Come on, folks!
- The training is right on the money. I’m using Athletica.AI as my virtual coach, and it’s working really well. I had way more strength on the climbs and flats than I have felt in a long time. I attribute that to the 30/30s and threshold intervals we’ve been doing with Velocity. Plus the strength training in the gym and the yoga have been helpful. The one ride I haven’t been able to do as much is the long medium-intensity ride, mostly because I don’t want to spend that much time on the trainer. Same with four or five hour endurance rides. I definitely felt that was a missing piece in my fitness. But the race was the first weekend of March. It’s early. Nationals is in September so the arc of training is in a good place. I’ll recover from this effort and keep following the training schedule!
- I broke down and bought some really nice wheels from Psimet, a Chicago company that has been a big supporter of the cyclocross community. Plus they’re really good people and make a solid product. I got the Psimet carbon gravel rims laced to White Industry hubs. I’m certain that the lightness and smoothness contributed to my abilities up the hills today. Smooth and fast!
- If you’ve been listening to the Athlete’s Compass podcast, you know we’ve been talking a lot about nutrition, especially a low-carb, high fat and protein diet for athletes. I’ve been following that kind of diet for the last several months, and I was a little concerned about how I would race. I used Embark Coffee Maple Syrup to make sure I had enough carbohydrate for the race. I felt really good. No bonks, kept my energy levels up, and no problem pedaling hard the whole day. Any fatigue was definitely muscular since I haven’t ridden this hard since prior to my ablation.
Three Things to Know About the First Race of the Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour
- The Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour is Off to a Strong Start – I finished the Dirty South Roubaix without any heart issues, marking an important milestone in thecomeback journey. Plus, I already raised $1,000 for pediatric heart care—showing that the mission behind this effort is gaining momentum.
- Lessons Learned for Future Races – From gear mishaps (not checking the SRAM electronic shifting) to hydration mistakes (leaving the pack behind), and pre-race overthinking (second-guessing my kit choice), this race provided valuable insights to fine-tune my preparation for upcoming events.
- Fitness and Training Are on Track – Despite early-season conditions and some challenges, my training—including VO2 max work, threshold intervals, strength training, and yoga—is paying off. I felt strong on climbs and steady on the flats, showing that the Athletica structured training approach is setting me up well for bigger goals later in the season.
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Paul Warloski is a:
- USA Cycling Level 1 Advanced Certified Coach
- RRCA Running Coach
- Training Peaks Level 2 Coach
- RYT-200 Yoga Instructor
- Certified Personal Trainer
Simple Endurance Coaching supports everyday endurance athletes with holistic, personalized coaching to accomplish their adventure and bucket list goals.