Day 104 of 365

Baby it's cold outside

Happy first day of 2018. I wanted to start this year out with a big adventure. I knew I wanted to do a polar plunge but in my head it was going to be a sunny 32 degree day.

What are the chances that the coldest day in 40 years would fall on January first?

100%!

I turned the news on this morning to see an announcement that the Kenosha Polar Plunge was cancelled due to weather. I also noticed the -25 degree wind chill as the current temperature in Milwaukee. This did not sit well with my ideal plunge experience but I was still determined to do it on the first day of 2018. Remember my patience thing? It isn't getting better.

I read through my list of necessities:

1. towels

2. warm robe

3. dry clothes

4. hand warmers - I forgot these

5. gloves - my selection not warm enough, it should have been mittens

The most important thing to bring? People who are crazy enough to be your team who will help you strip out of your clothes at -25 degrees. I was fortunate to have four and they were spectacular.

Here's how this experience went down. We arrived 45 minutes early and still had to park about a half mile away. I'm sure that distance isn't so bad when it's 32 degrees but today, after my dunk, it felt like miles. I found a spot close to shore but the water along the edge was frozen into a steep shelf. Some amazing person created steps down to the water. I eyed the location and just before the twelve o'clock horn I dashed to the lake.

I really wanted to have this experience in Lake Michigan. I felt like it would be the perfect "one and only" time to have this adventure. It felt exactly right.

Once my feet hit the lake the entire experience happened fast. I wanted to go under the water so I just let myself fall back. It was COLD! No I really mean it was cold like I've never felt. My next mission was to get out and get dry. This is where the team comes in because it was all I could do to stay warm. They bundled me up and dried me off and it was all a blur.

Some brilliant polar plungers had a fire going and I had enough brain power to ask if I could steal some heat. This was right about the time that I couldn't feel my fingers. Please refer to #5 on the list of necessities.

When it was over I was invigorated and felt pretty good. The crotch of my pants froze on the long walk back. I should have stripped off my swimsuit. Live & Learn.

Day 104 was Brrrrr. Enjoy the video

Love & Light

I planted my #365rockdays rock