The coldest 13 seconds in my life.....

For those of you that are unaware, I recently decided to jump in the frigid waters of the great Lake Calhoun in the coldest city on the face of the planet Minneapolis, MN. What and why, prat ell, would I do such a thing?



I'm the guy on the left.....scared for his life...

Well, theory number one is that I did it for charity. The "Polar Plunge" is actually a charity event that benefits the Special Olympics. It really is for a GREAT cause. All the money raised during the Polar Plunge is donated by the local law enforcement officers to the Special Olympics. Now, you may have noticed I mentioned money being "raised." If you haven't put two and two together (It's four - by the way) not only did I jump in 32 degree water, but I actually PAID to do it! And I LOVED it!

Theory number two would be that I did it for the camaraderie of my co-workers. This would be true. We did get a team together from my co-workers at Caribou Coffee....we appropriately named our team the "Caribou Coolers." Hopefully you have visited a Caribou and you get the pun. I have a job that I really do love, and I work with a bunch of great people. This "tradition" started last year, and I really wanted to join in. Good cause, good people, and good times. What more could you ask for!

So, what did it feel like? It actually wasn't as bad as anyone thinks it would be. You do feel like you are somewhat "walking the plank" prior to jumping in..and when you jump in, it really doesn't occur to you what just happened...and then, you have to actually get out of the water. That was the WORST part. Rising out of the water, wearing a soaking wet t-shirt...as I rose out of the water I felt as if Randy Macho Man Savage and Rowdy Rody Piper tag teamed me off of the top rope giving me the flying elbow....in other words...it was f'ing cold. You then rise out of the water...thinking of nothing but the Sienfeld episode "shrinkage." And then dive headfirst into a cess-pool of a "hot tub" where thousands of others have doused their freezing cold frames. It felt AWESOME!!!! At the end of the day...it was awesome, and I would do it over and over again every year, especially since it was for charity.

I do have a third theory of why I was possessed to plunge to the abyss. Lack of sleep. You see....sleep is a precious thing that I seem to be missing these days. Why? Well....I now have approximately 4.2 inches of sleeping space on our queen size bed. I have learned quickly with Kari expecting Baby K, I now fall WAYYYYYY down on the priority list when it comes to our bed and space for sleep. No, it is not to give Kari more space....it is now my great arch enemy of sleep............it shall be known as the SNOOGLE! For those of you that don't know, a "Snoogle" is a "maternity body pillow" that is the size of Rhode Island. I believe the Snoogle inventers did this to prepare soon to be fathers for sleepless nights. "Damn Snoogle" is what I often mumble as I lie in bed at 3am, awake and teetering on the edge of the bed as if I were a 13 year old Chinese gymnast on the balance beam. You see, I now am not the first priority when it comes to bed space (Kari), and no..I am not the second priority (Snoogle). You may be thinking, well...he HAS to be the third priority when it comes to sleep - and woah woah woah - you would be wrong. That privilege would fall to Sierra our dog. Where do I fall? Actually about 7th or 8th behind Sierra, Summit, and the 3 other pillows we have on our bed. I blame the Snoogle for my poor judgement these days. (Damn Snoogle). Maybe next year I will take the Snoogle on the plunge and DROWNED it to its sleepless death, but I am not bitter. Damn Snoogle!!!!!!!

At the end of the day..it was a great decision. A few interesting facts. 3,000 people jumped into the water that day!!! A Polar Bear Plunge record. Over half a million dollars was raised at Lake Calhoun. There was over 2.2 million raised across the state and over 11,000 people plunged. Yes, we are all nuts!



The Caribou Cooler Team
(Note that Sierra and Summit are fond of Cari-Bou)

 

This was the most painful part....