So....

Finished....right around 14 hours and 47 minutes or so, will probably find out the specifics tomorrow at the awards breakfast - where we think I might have gotten 3rd in the age group. Was a bit slower than originally hoped, and there are a LOT of factors to that. From the wind forecast to be sustained 20mph w/40mph gusts (which was a very low estimate) which whipped up amazingly choppy lake, to the same wind causing MAJOR problems on the bike, and my bike just NOT cooperating mechanically. I dropped my chain at least 10 times total, but did learn the neat trick that they've been trying to teach me for years in how to pop it back on while riding (sometimes....I did manage to completely lock the pedals and chain up at one point and wound up skidding into the gravel. So between the wind and rain on the bike and that combined with the never-ending hills (9,600 ft of climbing), I was toast coming off the bike headed into the run. So let's run a marathon with over 3,000 ft of climbing, too. A little slower but still under my original goal of 15 hours. Altogether, a very great learning experience. It will be at least a year before I attempt another one, and it'll probably be a more manageable course.

Gar kind of fell apart too with stomach issues on the bike that bled over to the run that were started - again - with the damn wind and chaos of the swim.

I was, or so the parents say, the second woman out of the water in a 1:07. It'll be interesting to see what the "typical" time from today was and how many people canned the day after or during the swim.

Altogether, fantastic experience. More details coming.