Before the end of 2014, I saw the option for the Frigid 5K and Polar Plunge on the Runtastic Events website. When I saw it, I knew I had to do it! I had never done a Polar Plunge before, and I was too scared to do it alone. So what did I do? I posted it on my running group and rallied others to join me in this craziness!
There was a lot of hesitation and apprehensiveness when it came to signing up. Some people were all about it! Some people only wanted to run the 5K. So I had a list, but it kept changing. During my vacation in Virginia, I started to psych myself out and get all worked up about how cold it was going to be! It didn't help that I caught the flu towards the end of my vacation. Was this even a good idea at this point?
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The week before the race, some of my running family needed to get in some mileage before the race, as a lot of us are training for marathons and ultra marathons. A group of us ended up meeting at 6:30am at Utah Lake to get in around 6-9 miles.
The air was definitely frigid!!!!!! We ran the horse shoe path around the marina. The sunrise was gorgeous as we logged our miles.
Some of us even stopped to strike a yoga pose along the docks.
As we ran around the lake, most of us got nervous about how cold the water was going to be. Just check out this next picture with the photographer walking on the ice...
But we kept running and chatting to keep our minds off of it, until the time came.
Around 8:00 - 8:15, we started to gather around packet pick up to don our bibs and crazy attire (which we decided to sport for Ruthie's birthday celebration - Heather and I made our tutus and my head piece last night)!
We waited for the rangers to open up the gates to the Provo River Trail...
And then off we went...
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| Don't worry... they put a shark cage down there for safety! |
Needless to say, just about all my friends were hating me and cursing me at this point. They were freaked out, and they didn't want to go. But... they were troopers and got in line!
The water on the surface of the ice started to melt as it got warmer, so standing on the ice made for some frozen feet! It hurt so bad I almost couldn't wait to jump in and get it over with!
...And then it was my turn!
David, the Race Director, cheered me on, and the group around me started their countdown. At the count of 1, I didn't even hesitate, or else I wouldn't have done it! Whew! What a rush! And it was over before I knew it!
We all did it! Nobody chickened out, even though there was talk of it! And we've lived to tell the tale!
So although everyone was cursing me before the plunge, they couldn't stop talking about how AWESOME it was, and that they were glad they did it (against their better judgement)! Who could pass up bragging rights?
So to celebrate our victory over the fear of freezing cold water, as well as Ruthie's birthday, we chowed down on some cupcakes!
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Here's to us crazy Run Aways! And to more adventures to come! Love you all! And thanks for joining me in my madness!
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