[nyc rugby]

This wasn't the first Polar Bear swim I've done, and the weather wasn't bad (41F air/39F water with a little breeze) but this year the Long Beach Polar Bears attempted to set the Guinness Record for the biggest winter swim. It seemed like a pretty good reason to get out of bed in the morning so a bunch of my friends met at one friend's beach house out there and after a few adult beverages we went for a dip...all 3500 of us or so. My buddy's GF took some pics, I'll see if I can get a hold of them tomorrow.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lipola0202,0,4575826.story

 

[Whatever Dude]

"I had shrinkage!"

 

[nyc rugby]

"I had shrinkage!"

Shrinkage happens (on another level compared to a cold pool or something like that), but that goes back to normal pretty quickly. For me the biggest problem is my feet, they always still hurt on the day after.

 

[SuperSmitty]

did this also set any hypothermia records :nana:

congrats on the swim. nothing wakes you up faster than almost frozen water

 

[DarkMatter]

Not exactly my cup of tea...but if it's what floats your boat.

Congrats and more power to you.

 

[nyc rugby]

Thanks guys. It's not something that I plan my life around but it's a good excuse to start partying WAY before the superbowl (we cracked our first beers around 11AM on the train ride out to LI) and help raise some money for a good cause at the same time. This one event has raised a little over a $1mm just over the last three years for the Make a Wish foundation, they're estimating that this year alone would be over $400,000.

Plus, I got a cool shirt out of the deal. :thumbsup: