I'm a bit down today. I'm tired - we didn't get back to Chicago from Duluth until after midnight. The Duluth Classic was reasonably well-run and had good courses - I'd recommend it for next year.

I recovered well and had good energy for each race and felt I had good form. But my mechanical problems held me back. And an even bigger issue is my lack of explosive acceleration. Over and over, someone would attack and I could not catch the wheel. I'd have good position in the sprint and not be able to seal the deal - the real sprinters would come shooting by me with crazy speed.

I had hoped to upgrade to cat 3 by Masters Nationals at the end of June. But with the small women's fields, you have to finish in the top three to get any points. And I'm just not doing that. I'm stronger than I've ever been and I'm a better racer than I've ever been and I'm still solidly middle of the pack.

I'm frustrated that I'm not able to achieve my goal.