Swim Training 2009

INDOOR - Spring 2010

Stantonbury

TeamMK will have the use of this pool from 19:30-20:30 every Thursday. We have the club coach, Mark Booth and Robin Dowswell every week setting sessions for the adults and helping out from the side. There are 6 lanes. Currently we have kids in the first lane who are coached by Toni Heap and then the next five lanes contain swimmers with standards roughly as follows:

Cost is currently £2 for adult and £1 for kids. Please make sure you pay Robin (the session organiser) or Mark Booth if Robin is absent. If you skip paying you are effectively taking money from other members of the club.

I've been looking around for information on non-chlorinated pools in the UK. Lets face it, many sessions in indoor pools leave us with itchy backs and faces, dry skin and sometimes breathing difficulties. Various studies have shown that asthma incidence is closely related to the amount of time swimmers spend in water.

The cause is the chemicals that are produced when "dirty" people swim in chlorinated water. Sweat, dander and urine all combine with chlorine to produce chemicals that cause the lungs to become less effective and that also cause inflammation of the bronchial airways and skin.

What are the solutions for us keen triathletes- Well outdoor swimming is one at this time of year. The other is knowing where the best pools are and in particular those that use ozone systems which are more effective than chlorine disinfectants. The site http://piscinasana.wikidot.com/ has some information on UK pools, but it is not yet comprehensive. Another site is: http://www.swimmersguide.com/ which lists local pools if you select your country/county etc. The nearest I can find is in Oxford so we have to make do with 2nd best. Perhaps we should all move to the continent where they seem to do cleanliness and swimming pool hygiene alot better. By the way the pool in Riccione for the Big Cow camp is far superior to any of our local pools and I don't recall ever getting any chemical irritation from it.

Here are my thoughts on the local pools:

Wolverton outdoor 33m: Pleasant ambience swimming outdoors, have not noticed too much irritation from chemicals. They use a special oily film overnight to keep the water warm. Changing facilities so-so.

Middleton Pool 33m: Pleasant ambience, although a few years ago chemical levels did cause lung irritation when we had our club sessions there. They seems resolved now. Changing facilities are generally clean and pleasant. Lanes are wide enough for passing in the middle.

Stantonbury 25m: Bright lighting, chemical irritation average. Changing facilities have been upgraded. Shallow end is shallow. Only when I became an "advanced" tumble turner did I use the shallow end for tumble turns.

Bourton Mill club 25m: Chemicals and water temperatures were not controlled properly. It burn't down in Autumn 2009 and won't open until well into 2010 if at all. I've been told it may need to open for insurance claim purposes, so my initial thought that it would never open again may be erroneous, although I'm not going to bet either way!

Woughton Campus 20m:Been here once. It was very shallow throughout and had no lane ropes. probably not for serious training.

Bletchley Pool 25m: This opened on 4th Jan 2010 with 8 lanes. There are always 2 lanes available for public swimming. The "fast lane" is a bit narrow though. For this reason it may be good for a training pool. Current cost £3.10 I think. Chlorine a bit more stingy than Middleton.

David Lloyd 25m: Light, expensive to join. Changing facilities a bit above average. Not been for a while, but I remember some chemical irritation especially from the jacuzzi. This pool is used by many of our better swimming triathletes however.

OUTDOOR

Wolverton Open Air 2010

Wolverton 33m open air pool normally opens from the 2nd week in May until the end of August. The number of weeks seems to depend on council funding. I'm hoping it will be open as normal in 2010 and that the new casino planned for Xscape won't have eaten up all the funds it deserves.

It normally has 1-2 lanes roped off even in quite busy periods. It is open from 12-19:00 weekdays and 11-16:00 weekends. Cost £3 after 17:00 or £3.70 at other times. Books of 12 tickets can be bought for the price of 10 swims. Wetsuits are welcome and it is a good place to test wetsuits to see what affect they have on your swim times. e.g. for Robin D 1000m takes 15:00 without and 14:10 with a Snugg etc.

Open water swimming 2010

The swimming at Haversham lake is due to start early on in May each year. Swimming takes place in Haversham Sailing club. You must be a member of Team MK to use this facility. The time is normally from 7:00-8:00am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Club coach Mark Booth will be present on most occassions to oversee activities.

Many members swim at Brogborough Lake in the summer. This is not an official Team MK session so anyone can turn up (lake owners permitting). See the forums and open water mailing list for info.

To confirm if a session is on please...

Either phone 01908 615045, check the forums and/or subscribe to the open water mailing list.

To get to Haversham sailing lake:

Haversham Sailing Club is located in Haversham Village which is about 1 mile north of Milton Keynes. Access is from an entrance in Haversham Village about 20 metres south of the public phone box.

The Ordnance Survey Grid reference of the Clubhouse is 833430, Landranger Map 152.

Check out:

http://homepages.rya-online.net/hsc123/newsite/2_theclub/club_location.html for more info.

*******************************************************************

Brogborough 2010

Broggie reservoir (near J13 of the M1) swimming is now on a more official footing. You pay £30 to be a "member" and can then swim on any day of the week providing you don't get in the way of wind surfers (don't swim) or anglers (swim away from the banks). Early mornings and windless days are normally wind surfer free.

In 2009 a group were swimming at 6am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 07:30am on Saturdays. Graham Mackie is the club member most involved with what is going on at Brogborough . More details are available on the club forum.