Polar Plunge 2008

Today I did three things I'd never done before. One was drink V8. One was this:

I took the Polar Plunge and it was AWESOME. Thank you to the folks who pledged and came out to cheer! We couldn't have asked for a better day. Bright sun, little wind, and temps in the mid-20s felt downright balmy. Definitely going again next year. 

I had been a little worried about the whole thing because the pre-registration party at the Nitty Gritty was total chaos. (Maybe because I was one of the first people in line and they were still working out the kinks.) But on the big day, once we got on the shuttle from the Coliseum to the plunge site in Olin Park, everything went smoothly.

Off the bus, the mood was festive. My cheerers-on headed to a good viewing spot (JM took these pictures) while I found the women's changing tent. I got a perfect location next to one of the big ducts blowing warm air. Off with the outer clothes, on with the shoes and the official plunge blanket for the walk to the shore.

They don't let you stand in line long enough to get really cold. My biggest worry was taken care of when an official guy was on hand to hold my glasses. Then it was down the ramp, a little drama at the water's edge, a countdown, and in we went.

The water was maybe 6 feet deep. I remember clearly looking up through the brown swirly murk and bubbles at the sun shining and thinking, "I made it." That was a little premature. The ten feet to the ice-encrusted ladder back out of the lake was the longest ten feet I've ever swum, and I think I sort of yelped the whole way.

And ran all the way up the hill to the waiting hot tubs. Here, here's my hand and the tip of my nose.

The hot tubs weren't very hot, and were full of Lake Monona muck, but they did the trick. A few minutes later, I went back into the freezing air - this is when it started to feel cold - and dashed back into the changing tent. Off with the cold suit (a swimsuit was definitely the right choice - anything else would have been too much trouble) and on with warm, dry clothes, including boots and mittens cleverly pre-warmed with those little warming packs.

I found JM and friends back outside the concession tent where they'd been killing time with brats and cocoa. Then we caught the shuttle back to the parking lot, and headed to our house for board games. Fun all around.