ShoreTurtle – Running in and around New Jersey

Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge 2006 – Point Pleasant, NJ

PHOTOS, SLIDESHOW and a SHORT VIDEO

The Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge was held today in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. The air temperature was 29 degrees with a wind chill of 9 degrees. The water temperature was 39 degrees. It was cold, cold, cold. Thanks to everyone who sent me a donation. All total, I received $500 in donations.

I arrived 1.5 hours early. I was nervous like I am before a race. Registration was a breeze. I picked up my swag (a fleece pullover for redhead fangirl, a travel mug, an overnight bag and best of all a warm robe.) I received a last minute donation Saturday night which put me over the top and made me eligible for the robe. I wore my superman shirt and nerdy glasses. Other costumes that I saw: a grown man wearing only a diaper, sponge bob, Santa Claus, polar bear, Winnie the pooh, radioactive man, lots of coconut bras and grass skirts.

I played a game of skee ball in an arcade while I was waiting. My friend Anthony drove down from North Jersey to watch. It was fun to hang out with him in the cold before jumping in the ocean. He helped capture the moment by taking a video and snapping a post plunge photo. I was much colder this year before the plunge. Waiting until go time is the hardest part.

Finally the word was given and 2000+ people ran into the ocean. It was cold, but the water was warmer than the air. I ran in up to my waist, dove under, turned around and ran out. My total time in the water was 10 seconds. I was better prepared for post plunge–everything was easy to put on, which is key. I had thick warm socks, fleece pants, tech shirts and my robe. I felt good. I changed clothes in a tent with a hundred other guys. No photos, sorry. I piled on the layers.

I met up with Anthony and we ate lunch in a heated tent. The food was the same as last year, but good. I had sausage and peppers, ziti, a cheeseburger and a hot dog. As I defrosted in the tent, I started to get cold and shivered a bit. It didn’t last long. We finished lunch and took a walk on the boardwalk to our cars.

There were far less drunks this year. Officials cracked down on the drinking. The bars were all closed. Sadly, the plunge will not be held there next year. The city has made it clear that they don’t want the event there anymore. I wonder where it’s going to go. We were in search of a beer, so we drove to Belmar and had a beer at a pub on 17th street–$3.75 for a pint of Bass Ale in a collectible pilsner glass — what a bargain.

Thanks again to everyone for your encouragement, support and donations. It is a great cause and I hope to do the plunge again next year.

Update: Here is a link to an article about the plunge in the newspaper.

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Asbury Park Polar Bear 5 Mile Run – Asbury Park, NJ

The 42nd annual Asbury Park Polar 5 mile race was on New Year’s Eve day. I ran this race for the first time last year. The weather forecast called for rain all morning and part of the afternoon so I was pleasantly upbeat when it wasn’t raining when I got there. My mood improved during my pre-race warm-up and I started to feel excited about the race. My performance was sub-par last year and I was looking forward to a better showing.

Santa Claus played the national anthem on the trumpet and the race started. The race is an old school no-frills event. They will probably post the race results in a week or two. The race numbers were in the 500s so there was a good size crowd. I was better prepared this year—mentally and physically. Running laps is harder for me than a traditional course. I like the feeling of getting somewhere. With last year’s race under my belt, I knew that I would be running in circles in windy, cold and possibly rainy conditions. The race was 4 laps on the boardwalk. It was very cool to hear the feet pounding the boards when we started. As the race progressed, the herd spaced itself apart. It wasn’t too crowded. I ran an even race. My first mile split (the only one that they had marked) was 7:48 which was close to my overall race pace. I finished with an unofficial time of 38:42 which is a PR for this distance. My 10Ks in the fall were around the same pace so I wasn’t surprised with the time. Considering my low mileage lately and my lack of running recently, I was very happy with the time.

Just as I finished, I saw two of my friends who came out to see me run and plunge. It was a nice surprise. I talked with them for a bit as it started to rain. I realized that I should probably get my towel and change of clothes to do the plunge. On the way back from my car, I saw the crowd gathering on the beach. There were probably 20-25 plungers–definitely more than last year. As I got ready to go in, everyone was coming out of the ocean. I went ahead anyway, ran into the ocean up to my waist and dove underwater. I quickly got up, stumbled and ran out. I wasn’t as overheated as last year and as a result, the water felt much colder. The air temperature was in the high 30s and the water temperature was probably in the low 40s. I had a little bit of trouble getting my clothes back on (frozen hands) and the rain didn’t help much. My friends were nice enough to stay with me on the beach in the rain while I got my stuff together. I brought a change of clothes this year, which I didn’t think of that last year. I warmed up much faster. Post race food was soup, which was good. I drove home and got ready for new year’s out on the town in Philly.

Update: The results are posted. The race officials did much better this year. Last year: race tags taped onto posterboard. This year: a laptop. There were 187 runners. The top male finished in 25:29. The top female finished in 30:58. My time was 3 seconds faster than previously reported. I was 62nd overall. I was 7th of 22 male runners in the 30-39 age group.

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Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge – Point Pleasant, NJ

Click here for more photos.

This was a non-running event. There were an estimated 3000 spectators and over 2700 participants. There were close to $600,000 raised in donations for the Special Olympics!

I arrived early and turned in my donations. Thanks to the generous support of my family, friends and coworkers I was able to raise $435 dollars.

Air temperature was 32 degrees, but it was very sunny. Water temperature was 38 degrees. The weather conditions were very similar to my Plunge in December (32 degrees air and 39 degrees ocean), though this time there was not a 5 mile running race beforehand. There was snow on most of the beach, but shoreline was clear.

I positioned myself towards the back of the group to avoid being trampled. It was so loud that it took me a few moments to realize that the Plunge had started. I put down my camera and ran towards to water. I went in to my waist and dove under. The water was so cold that it took my breath away and I forgot most of the things that my contributors had requested that I do such as communicate with whales, recite lines from the Princess Bride movie, make bubbles, etc. I did my best to fulfill their requests.

As I made my way out of the water, I had the thought that it would not take long for my legs to stop working. Once on the beach it took a couple of minute to get to my clothes, have my picture taken and put my clothes back on. There was a hot lunch buffet which I ate with my gloves on while sitting next to a heater. The hot-dogs, hamburgers and hot chocolate warmed me up…

Overall, I am very happy that I took part in the Plunge. I am very appreciative of everyone’s support and generosity.

And I am thinking of doing it again next year!

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