Northern Fun

I know Thanksgiving was a week and a half ago and I am just getting around to posting about it, but we had so much fun that I have to post about it even if it is late!

We always go to Annapolis for Thanksgiving to visit my husbands family. His mother is a triathlete, his father a sailor, his older sister has two great daughters(our only nieces), his little sister is probably one of the coolest kids I know(ok so maybe she is 21 now and not really a kid anymore but I still see here as the 12 year old she was when I met her), and his brother in law works for the Boston Globe and is always good for some great conversation. I am very lucky to have this group for inlaws they are always ready to have fun and we have many common interests!

Luckily, this year we arrived to a nice warm front that hung around until the last day we were there. Normally it is what I consider ungodly cold and I HATE the cold. Despite the cold weather my mother in law, being a dedicated triathlete herself(2x kona qualifier and age group record holder at IMLP) always sees to it that we have plenty of training opportunities. In past years she has introduced us to the "4:40 group"(a crazy group that starts their 6 mile run at 4:40am and then hits the pool), arranged multiple turkey trot races, and took me on my first 30 mile bike ride(from which my husband had to bring the car and come pick me up so she could finish her ride!) As always this year we had a couple of treats. First we hit the basement for a little computrainer ride.

That's right they have 3 of them networked together in the basement for winter racing! What a blast. Then she took me to Masters swimming(a great group) and introduced me to her friend Maureen to get advice on cold water swimming. I have signed up for IMSG and have an absolute terrible time swimming in cold water. Of course with all the great advice I got, I wanted to try it out right away. Since the water temp was 53 and beach access less than a block from the house I thought it was the perfect opportunity. My mother in law(Crissy), and husband were not going to let me suffer alone and tagged along. Sadly Jose didn't have a wetsuit and went in a speedo and Crissy gave me her booties, gloves, and cap.... so they were a little colder than I was, but real troopers for supporting me. My father in law(Joe) grabbed the camera and we headed out!

The swim was the coldest water I had ever been in and it sucked. Although Jose and Crissy were cold they were able to swim a bit. However, I was fairly warm but unable to swim because every time I put my face in the water it would take my breath away. I will be looking for any advice to overcome this issue, but that's all for another post.

It was another successful Thanksgiving in Maryland and I can't wait to see what the inlaws have in store for next year!