It had been a long time I had gone swimming, must be more than a year or so. When I got into water around two months back, I was pretty shocked to realize that I can hardly swim for 100m without resting. The good part was that at least I could rest floating on the water without any problem. I think it is time I get back to the pool for some drill.
Swimming has been one of my childhood passions(in which I never excelled). My first swimming lessons came during summer holidays when I was in primary school. That was from my cousins who lived in remote village, a forest for all practical reasons where they had a river running close to the house.
After getting a bit comfortable with my swimming, I guess I got overconfident about my abilities. A couple of years later, in the peak of rainy season, one of my friends invited me for a swim in the nearby water canal of a reservoir. The canal was full and the water was flowing at max speed. I thought it does not sound feasible. But he took me along, and well experienced as he was, showed me how easily one can jum into the canal, happily float in the water and allow the currents to take you down, and gracefully come out at the next platform availble. I was not only impressed, but was also convinced that it was do-able. So tempted I was, took the plunge without care, and the next few moments were quite a thing I would not forget. My skills weren't good enough for the current and I could not even make an attempt to float on the water. Fortunately I did not panick. I kept going down and occasionally managed to get my head up, draw as much air as I can and then back at the mercy of the currents. I must have managed a 50 meters like that. While I kept a watch for the platform, I was not able to reach it, and kept drifting away. Then, alarmed, my friend's father, who was also around jumped in and pulled me out from the water and dragged me back to the bank. A few tense seconds later, we figured out I had not taken in much water and was pretty alright. And a silent minute or later, we all burst out laughing! My friend who was planning a few more jumps decided otherwise and we just walked back. And luckily, no body was reported of my stupidities and it was just forgotten without any more flames and firings. The incident went off easy but left behind a minor fear of water in me. I think I stayed away from water for around 2 years after that. But the lure was stronger than the fear and I was soon back, but still did not make it a point to get comfy with swimming skills. It is only two years back that I took it more seriously and went swimming for almost 4 months longs. Only then that I finally felt completely home at water, learned to float as long as I want and managed to swim more than a kilometer without pausing. And that followed by yet another long abstinence from water and now, realization of complacence building up. Now, knowing that I can't do more than a 100 meters means I should soon get back for some serious dip and set things right again...
