Ice Ice Baby

New Year’s Eve.  The Omega to January 1st’s Alpha.  The end and the beginning.

The day I somehow convinced myself “This will be fun” and plunged headfirst into the icy ocean waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.  Dressed as a regal blue Ice Queen I figured this was the perfect opportunity to send the chilly witch out to her watery grave at the end of 2010.  Start 2011 on a completely new slate.

The event I went “all in” for was the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s Polar Plunge, an annual bout of craziness that raises both money and awareness for global warming, climate issues and other energy programs that the Council works on.

The air temp was a balmy 41 degrees, which meant the water temp was probably somewhere between 35-40 degrees.  Chilly, but tolerable, right?

Well, apparently the human body internally is about 98 degrees or so.  We keep our thermostats in homes between 60-75 degrees most often.  Our tongues freeze to metal poles at about 32 degrees.

And all my organs somehow pull themselves up and into my ribcage when I jump into near freezing ocean water.  Seriously, there was snow all over the beach.  Do you KNOW how hard it is for snow to survive near ice water?!  No wetsuits allowed, this was all swimsuit and exposed skin and BRRRRR!!!!

I think the look of shock upon exit pretty much sums it up.

Yet like any adrenaline-laced moment, I’ve already blocked all that out of my mind somehow and committed to doing the same thing next year – while also recruiting new folks.

To watch video of the plunge in and out and my brilliant commentary post-ocean brain freeze, check out the video below:

So seriously…who’s with me next year?!