29°F. "Feels Like" 16°F. Sounds like the perfect day to jump in Lake Michigan! When I heard about the Polar Plunge on Wednesday night, I emailed a bunch of friends and told them I was "in" if one person would step up and do it with me. The bad news is that almost everyone wimped out...replying, hell no! The good news is that I have a few friends just crazy enough to say yes. Thank god for Julie, Max and Dan (and the few brave souls who came to support us) because this is not something you'd want to do alone. The four of us gathered at Julie's around 11am to booze up and dress up for the big event. We got up to the NU beach and while it was pretty damn cold outside, we were starting to think it wouldn't be that bad after all. Until we had to undress... and then within a minute our feet were completely numb and we realized that this was a really stupid idea. We danced around and huddled to keep warm until it was our turn to go and then finally, we bolted for the water avoiding chunks of ice that had washed up on the beach (see videos below). Once we had all gone in, we headed back for the shore on frozen sand and feet. Nothing can really prepare you for the intense prickling sensation that overtakes your body or the complete lack of feeling in your feet. In all honesty, the upper body did well, it was just the feet that didn't respond for about 30 minutes, which provided a small scare. After we bundled up, we did the one thing that we knew would help warm us up... hit the bar for the afternoon! We spent all afternoon drinking, laughing at each other and snapping photos before we finally parted ways - the boys to Charity Auction Ball and me and Julie to the gym for a quick hot tub session.
Thanks again to Eileen M, Eileen K, Michelle, Mom, Karen, Jane & Eugene, DJ, Dale, Lloyd, Paulita, Caryn, Shweta, Mufti, Mrs. J and Jen & Joe for their generous donations to the Special Olympics! $375 in only a few days. You guys are the best!
Get Ready, Get Set...
Go!
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