Cheryl Richardson – It was warm, 75 degrees, and rather humid for a spring day. I stood at the shoreline ready to take a plunge with my friend Libby, when she offered a challenge: “I’m going to stay in for ten minutes but if you don’t feel up to it, no worries.”

Okay, it wasn’t exactly a direct challenge, but because I’m competitive by nature (particularly with myself), I knew I’d have to give it a shot. Up until that point, I’d only jumped in and out of the frigid Atlantic Ocean so staying put for ten minutes felt like quite a stretch.

As I followed Libby into the water, I told myself I was crazy, that it was silly to stay in cold water for that long (the water was 46 degrees), and that because I hadn’t trained to do so, I wouldn’t last more than a minute. Continue reading →