The Polar Bear Plunge!

Holy COLD! And holy what-an-AWESOME-way-to-kick-off-the-New-Year, too! Whoo hoo!

Dave and I became official Polar Bears this morning and it was so much more fun than I expected it to be. It was GREAT!

We got up this morning, feeling pretty good (like I said, I ate way more than I drank last night!) and threw on some warm clothes, ready to head down to Lake Michigan to take the big plunge. Carlo and Penny and our friend, John, had all stayed at our place last night, so they came along to root us on and take some pictures. The five of us hit up Starbucks beforehand, and then made our way down toward the beach.



Just like someone on here had said it'd be, parking was insane. I knew the Polar Bear Plunge was a big deal, but I still didn't expect the absolute MOB of people we saw. There were tents set up, and ambulances waiting for just in case. We ended up having to park way up by the Lake Park Bistro and walk the mile or so down to McKinley Beach. I guess a lot of people get down there by 10 am or even earlier to start the festivities - or continue them from the night before - but we didn't get down there very early. By the time we found a spot on the sand in the middle of the crowd, we only had about 15 minutes before we were going in at noon.

I'm actually pretty glad that we didn't have an excessive amount of time to anticipate what we were going to do. I was completely scared, thinking that I might very well be a wuss and turn around the second my feet hit water. It was really entertaining, though, to stand around and watch the other people getting ready. The excitement was all around us, and we saw some pretty funny sights, like people in costume and white, hairy men in short shorts.



Around five to noon, we began to strip down, and just the feeling of being in shorts and a tank top in winter was exhilirating. I let out a few screams to pump myself up.



I expected there to be a horn or a gunshot or something to let the mob know that it was time to run in, but there was nothing like that. We were just chillin on the sand and then all of the sudden, a group of people were running into the waves. They created a snowball effect and soon everyone was heading in. Dave and I looked at each other and started running.



YOWWWWZA!

The first few leaps into the water took my breath away. It was freeeeeezing! But it was such a rush! I just kept telling myself, keep going! Keep going! I concentrated on bringing my legs up and not falling forward into the water. Dave was out ahead of me and once we were in to about our waist, I saw him jump up and then disappear under the water. He came back up and the absolutely pained and shocked look on his face was PRICELESS.

I had every intention of going completely under, but once I saw his face and felt the cold paralyzing the rest of my body, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I got my chest and shoulders wet, and the people splashing all around me got my face and hair pretty wet, too, but the top of my head stayed dry.



Dave ran out like a madman as soon as he came up from under the water, but I stayed in a bit longer, mostly because I felt like a wimp for not going all the way under. I finally made my way out, and it took me a few frantic, freezing seconds to find our group and our pile of clothes.

I was actually feeling pretty good and happy as I got my shirt and socks back on, but Dave was still in shock. It was hilarious. He sat on the sand, shivering, not quite able to get his shoes back on his feet without some help.



I watched as smaller groups of people ran back in, some even staying out there for a swim. The looks on people's faces when they came out was just so funny. I just kept thinking, why do humans do such stupid things?

Once we were dressed again, we gathered up our stuff pretty quickly and started our walk back to the car. My shoes were soaked and I hadn't thought to bring dry ones, so I walked back in just socks. We really didn't plan well at all - we didn't even think to bring towels.



After just a couple of minutes of being dripping wet and freezing, we started to feel better. I was amazed at how good I felt, and how it hadn't been NEARLY as painful as I expected it to be. My legs were beet red, and I had several strangers comment on them as they walked by, but besides that I was in good shape, and Dave was getting better by the minute, too.

Dave doesn't do too well with cold and says that while he's glad he did it once, he'll never do it again. Me on the other hand, I would love to be one of the crazy people who does it year after year. We did get lucky today, though, with the mild temperatures in the 30's. I don't know if I can imagine doing it when it's zero degrees out.

But I highly recommend it to those of you who have ever considered it. Even if you haven't, and even if you think you couldn't handle it, let me tell you, you can. The body is amazingly resilient, and the rush is so fun. People of every age and from every walk of life were down there today - I think every true Wisconsinite should try it!

Comments

[Charlie]

hmmmm... while your Jan 1 morning sounds more interesting than mine... I'll take sleeping in till noon over than ANYDAY!

I guess that's what makes me still a FIB. :)

Glad you and Dave survived!

[Christi]

You Rock Girl!!! I think it's so cool that out of the millions of things there are to do in one's life, you have a nice laundry list of things that you can proudly say "I did that!", and have plenty of stories to tell about them! Chalk up one more...THE POLAR BEAR PLUNGE!! Seriously, only something I thought I'd only see on those Coke Commercials (remember..with the old guys) he he. Although I did do it once when I was like 12. But anyways, now I personally know a Polar Bear!!!! Congrats Girl!!

Kudos to you and your blog!!!

[Outdoor putting green woman]

I can just imagine the cold freezing waters from the clear digital pictures on your post. The way you describe things makes me more want to try the unknown or perhaps try out for the extreme games. Your blog doesn't fail me keep me entertained and be more daring at my next outdoor adventure.

[Derek]

Nice work..someday I'll actually make it down there for that. This year, like most years, I was working off a major headache at noon on new year's day. :)

[Jen]

Sorry, but you're not really a polar bear if you didn't go under.