"how much is taken out of you when you are cold"--that's the lesson here.i'm out of the flood and earthquake zone's but it's that swim to shore in a cold lake that scares me.just as an aside,i don't think these swims are for everyone.people want to get involved but they should think about thing's like "body mass" or whatever before they leap in.back in the 50's and 60's it was just big guys going in on New Years to get a shot on the news,now it's everyone.