Ah, the first day of a new year. What to do on the arbitrary, Gregorian calendar-induced excuse to start anew? When bestowed with such an opportunity, the pressure can mount. Some squander it lazing about in bed, nursing hangovers earned from a night of partying away the biting letdown of too-high expectations. Some run amok in a Bridget Jones frenzy, replacing bags of Oreos with Snackwells, furiously writing resolutions and hopping on the treadmill. And some plunge in, literally. To the icy waters of Lake Washington. The sixth annual Polar Bear Plunge offers the opportunity to, (as the organizers say) “start 2008 off right” by fully submerging your 98.6 degree bod into the much colder lake water with a bunch of other nuts crazy enough to greet the New Year as a popsicle. But, there is something to be said for that glacial-fresh chill and re-born rush that neither a day on the couch with Dominos nor an hour at the gym with an iPod will provide. Plus, they even offer up official patches of courage and “Polar Bear Vitamins” (mini marshmallows). After all, nothing softens the threat of hypothermia like an iron-on and a handful of marshmallows. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. Swim at noon.

Tue., Jan. 1, 11:30 a.m., 2008