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SPORTS MADNESS
I Had to Be the Hero of the Polar Bear Plunge
My reward: mild hypothermia and a tetanus shot
It was New Year’s morning, and although I had partied with friends late into the previous evening, I was out of bed at 7:30, shaking the cobwebs from my head while pulling on some Speedo swim gear and ignoring the Rose Parade pre-show on TV.
The sun was up, but did I really need to be?
I found a silicon swim cap and goggles, layered with a T-shirt, hoodie, and sweatpants, and headed out the door.
A triathlon club I was involved with had the bright idea to schedule an informal Polar Bear Plunge to begin the year, and I was going to show the group just how tough I was.
I’d taken part in New Year’s athletic shenanigans before, most notably a four-mile run that included a stop in a bar each mile, the chugging of a full beer required before departing each establishment, and resuming the “race.”
That had proven to be a bad decision. I felt like death-warmed-over after crossing the finish line, but the run hadn’t posed any real risk to my health, and I’d eventually come to remember it fondly — yet another out-of-the-ordinary experience among quite a few in my life.
