Swimming induced swimming

Khatri bhai, Rasia, and I swam in the ocean today and covered a distance of .8 miles between La Jolla cove and La Jolla shores. The former two have done it before but it was the first time for me. And I  don't now swimming. Needless to say, it was a very educational and thrilling experience. Not a very wise decision, but very enjoyable nonetheless (as so many unwise decisions are).

There have been a few experiences which have taught me things about myself that I would never have learnt in the daily course of existence. And I am sure that this should be true for anyone. These specific instances bring out unsuspected qualities, sometimes unforeseen shortcomings by virtue of the fact that they demand a little more than normal and put the individual under more stress than he generally faces. Today was one such experience. I'm quietly proud of my performance. Not because I did something extraordinary (in fact it's quite a mundane achievement) but because I didn't think I had it in me to swim the distance. Having never done a standard lap and equipped with  only a very basic swimming competence, I was quite afraid to take the plunge. The wet suit was said to provide some floatation and the flippers, some efficiency. But as soon as I entered deep waters, I realized why people drown in the first place. Panic is the cause but what set panic in my case was the fear that I didn't have the stamina to sustain the effort that I was spending just to stay afloat. I saw that the coast was just 20 meters away but wasn't even sure if I could make that. I called Khatri bhai for help and he asked me to relax and paddle slowly and I would not drown. Seemed to work. Once it became clear that this small effort would keep me afloat, .8 miles seemed to be separated only by the will to do it. Several times along the course I took in salty water and realized that panic sets in easily if water gets in your lungs, but by then I had enough confidence. After swimming for an hour and a half we finally made it to the end. Khatri bhai and rasia could have done it much faster but my thanks and apologies for bearing with me :). The last thing that I realized was that to do a .8 miles swim you only need to have will power for .4 miles. The rest is just a compulsion.