Go for a swim.

“I walked in…ok…not too bad. I then took the plunge. For a few seconds, nothing else actually entered my mind. My thoughts were so concentrated on my breathing. It was the ultimate shock. I felt like I was making these deep, grunting noises as my body and breathing tried to catch up with each other. After what was probably closer to a minute than two, I had to get out. It was just too much. I was focused so heavily on just not feeling that cold. After a few seconds of being on the shore again, I felt I needed to go back in. I’d got a taste for it at that point. That time, it didn’t feel quite as cold. This happened several more times, and after a while, I realized that it really helped when I tried to intentionally breathe. You see, when you feel that cold, you seem to stop thinking. However, the logic I’d picked up from swimming started to come back to me. Towards the end of my experience in the water, I started to feel like I was really getting the hang of it. What I wasn’t expecting was how I’d feel when I got out properly. I felt euphoric. [...] My skin felt alive in a way I hadn’t experienced in a long time. I felt alert. I felt happy. I felt like I’d had a genuinely life changing experience.”

“My first open water experience and first time wearing a wetsuit was at a swim clinic I signed up for a few weeks before the Tri. The second I stepped into the ocean the cold water took my breath away and I immediately knew that this was going to be very different from swimming in the pool. As I headed for the first buoy I was not able to put my face in the water. I flipped onto my back, waves started going over my face and I began to swallow some water. I was feeling extremely fatigued, but the fatigue I was experiencing didn't correspond with the effort I was exerting. Luckily my friend was right by me and she started to side stroke beside me. A person in a kayak asked if I wanted help getting back to shore. I refused. I had to finish by myself. When I finally made it back to shore I could barely catch my breath.”