Well,
Leeds International Pool closed its doors for the last time on Sunday 21st
October after just over 40 years. The last Masters session was held the previous
day. There was quite a good turn-out, including a few people who'd come along
specially for the occasion. We finished off with some silly relays and coach
Alan handed out chocolates to the best performers. And everyone else. If you
click on the photo to the right you'll get a full screen version. If you can
face it.More photos
As most people will no doubt be aware, there have been a few teething problems with the new pool at South Leeds. After some uncertainty it opened on schedule, but with not quite everything fully functional. The booms that can be raised and lowered to convert the pool from 50m to three smaller pools were playing up and so we had to swim short course for the first couple of weeks. On top of that the bottom of the diving pool disintegrated and still hasn't been sorted out at the time of writing 3 weeks later. Then there was the day that there was no hot water in the showers, just to make us feel at home as some people commented....
Actually getting to and from the pool hasn't proved to be quite as bad as some of us feared. It helps that there's a new road that can make a big difference depending on where you're coming from. Unfortunately though it's not shown on any maps yet, and it's not signposted. The links below should help though. There are also two bus routes that go right past the pool. There are links below to the timetables for these.
Driving route from/to M621 south and M1
Driving route from/to M621 north and city centre
76 service
481 service
September 2007
Not long now! The latest info is that the new pool will be opening at the end of next month - LIP is scheduled to close on 21st October, then the new pool opens a week later. The reason for the gap is staff training. Just in case you don't know where the new pool is even after all this time, click here for a map. You can also read a bit about the pool on the Leeds City Council site.
As everyone knows, the location of the pool isn't that fantastic. In fact it's a nightmare for anyone without a car. The situation will improve shortly though with the introduction of a new bus service (no 76) between the city centre and South Leeds Stadium. It's not going to be that much of a service though - it only runs once an hour, the first bus out of town during the week isn't until 10 to 8, and there's no service at all on a Sunday! Click here for a timetable (ta to Flipper Girl for this info).
Incidentally, for anyone that's heard about the University's plans to build a pool and is wondering what the latest is, the project is definitely going ahead. Construction is due to start next year, with completion expected in 2009. Whether or not the public will be able to use the pool has still to be decided. However, the pool is supposedly going to open at 6.30, and they're hardly likely to get many (or any!) students in at that time of the day, so they as well allow the public in. Anyway, you can read up on the project here.
September 2007
August 2007
February 2006
September 2005
August 2005
August 2005
June 2005
May 2005
October 2004
Full results are available
here. Click
here to read Ben's account of his preparation and race.
September 2004
August 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
January 2004
January 2004
December 2003
December 2003
October 2003
October 2003
July 2003
18/05/2003
You can download the full results
here. November 2002 July 2002
On the first day of the month Claire Moore did a sponsored swim in Wast Water
to raise money for WaterAid. I'll let Claire take up the story.
"Just before 12 noon on Saturday, in very un-summery weather, I successfully
completed my first swim marathon, a 5000m swim across the length of Wast Water. Needless to say I'm very pleased! The
water was cold (15.3 degrees to be precise), the weather was crap (couldn't even see the end of the lake)
but aided by my support team (Hillary, Matt and Gary), I completed the swim in a fantastic
time of 1 hour 57 minutes (30 mins quicker than expected). For those in any doubt,
there are some photos
below as proof / for comedy value.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me train for this, especially my coach Fiona and
everyone at the Leeds Masters and Leeds & Bradford Tri club, and my support team on the day.
A massive thank you also to everyone who has parted with hard earned cash to sponsor me, I have now raised
over £1200 to help WaterAid provide water, sanitation and hygiene education to people like those I met in India who
need our help. It's still not too late to sponsor me, the web page will be open for a few weeks.
It's
http://www.justgiving.com/wastwater_thebigswim"
It was a fantastic effort by Claire,
especially considering it's not that long since she took up swimming. I'm not
sure if she'll be doing a repeat performance any time soon though - she's
heading to Australia at the end of the month and won't be back for a couple of
years, if ever! Incidentally, you can read all about Claire's trip to India last
year
here.
A few of our swimmers
(current and ex) competed in Ironman Canada in Penticton. Star performer was
Steve Hobson, who produced a lifetime best time and finished a very creditable
296th overall. Richard Lawrance (currently residing in Canada, but returning to
Leeds next month) also put in a pb; his run
was especially impressive. Simon Ward was first of our
lot out of the water (all those Saturday morning sessions paid off then), and he
also did a decent bike, but then his legs let him down on the run;
understandable though considering he hadn't run more than 8 miles for years
because of injury. Ben Bigglestone and Fiona Hoare didn't manage to finish.
Swim
T1
Bike
T2
Run
Overall
Position
Steve
1:00:07
3:09
5:42:10
4:12
4:00:28
10:50:05
296
Rich
1:02:24
3:39
5:39:30
3:10
4:33:29
11:22:11
526
Simon
0:59:06
2:35
5:47:39
4:51
5:44:13
12:38:22
1151
Ben
0:59:04
2:00
5:15:00
2:16
Fiona
1:02.30
4:06
Mark Turton's made various
changes to his Monday night session at east Leeds. Here's what he has to say
about it:
1.
There is to be a price increase from the 20.2.06 to £4.00 per session.
2. A new session has been started for the more advanced swimmers in the group at
7pm to 8pm Mondays. This will give more water space to all swimmers in both
sessions and improve swimmer to coach ratios. The new session will do approx
2700 to 3400 metres per session. All other swimmers will swim at the regular
time of 8pm to 9pm. If you're not sure which session to swim in contact me on
07919 446445.
Another new arrival. Jo Bishop's
had a little (well, not so
little really) girl. This is what Jo has to say about it:
"Just to
let you know I'm still alive and kicking. I had my baby on 23rd August, a whole
two weeks late! She (Evie Rose) was a whopping 9 pounds 12 ounces and took under
3 hours to come from start to finish! Needless to say I feel like Wonderwoman.
Will be back swimming as soon as I can as I've got a bit of a tummy to work on."
Jo and partner Andrew already have one
daughter Kizzie, who was 3 in July.
More Ironman competitors!
This time in Canada (Penticton to be precise). Results were a bit mixed, but
pride of place has to go to Ben Bigglestone for finishing 21st overall. Apparently
Ben is now based near Seattle, which means the race was virtually on his
doorstep, but it's only a couple of months since he did some Saturday morning
sessions with
us. Obviously those sessions must have made a difference! Fiona Hoare also put
in a good performance, as did Steve Hobson. Not faring quite so well were Andy Idle, who
was seriously affected by acute dehydration on the
run, and Simon Ward who didn't finish because of an achilles problem. Patrick Berkhold's swim and run were
good, but he was let down by his bike time.
Swim
T1
Bike
T2
Run
Overall
Position
Ben
0:55:52
2:04
5:00:36
2:00
3:42:42
09:43:12
21
Steve
1:02:18
3:45
5:37:20
4:29
4:31:16
11:19:05
312
Fiona
1:04.48
3:35
5:52:20
4:00
4:30:34
11:35:16
414
Andy
1:02:05
3:39
5:40:06
6:47
6:37:50
13:30:24
1254
Patrick
1:12:44
4:54
8:50:14
7:18
4:44:45
14:59:53
1723
Simon
0:58:57
3:28
5:30:35
3:12
Richard Lawrance competed in
his first Ironman at Sherborne, Dorset. He managed to get under 12 hours and was
279th out of over 1100 finishers, which
is pretty impressive for a first-timer, especially considering that he punctured
twice on the bike. Also competing were Helen MacVicker and Dion Harrison. Helen as ever put
in a good performance and finished first in her age group. Dion managed to pace
it much better than last time out in Lanzarote (see further down the page).
Swim
T1
Bike
T2
Run
Overall
Position
Dion
0:49:57
1:58
6:00:11
3:29
4:02:50
10:58:26
87
Helen
1:02:21
2:02
6:23:22
1:33
3:53:12
11:22:33
150
Rich
0:56:45
4:11
6:11:08
2:43
4:40:40
11:55:29
279
Lyn Hughes missed this year's trip to Club La Santa to run in the 'Coca Cola
Zero Rock n Roll' marathon in San Diego on June 4th. His time of 3.10.15 was a
lifetime best, and he was the 196th finisher out of 17,000. As he did in Miami
last year, Lyn showed how fit he is by doing a negative split - 1.36 and 1.34.
Bearing in mind that he's also got great stamina when he swims, I reckon it's
time he went for an Ironman....
Click
here for the results, or
here for photos of Lyn.
At least three people who
swim or used to swim with us competed in the Lanzarote Ironman on May 21st.
Conditions were quite tough - windy and fairly hot. Andy Jackson, who swam regularly in the mornings until a few
months back, did really well. He was 69th overall, and the 4th Brit home. He
missed out on getting under 11 hours by a mere 22 seconds! His run was
especially impressive - 3 hrs 49 was over an hour and a half faster than he did
in Hawaii last year (see below). Dion Harrison (trains with us when he's in
Leeds, usually wears a Dundee swim hat), was next home in just under
12 and a half hours. His swim was fantastic (10th out the water!), his bike
steady, but then he died on the run. Perhaps he needs to get some tips off Andy.
Andy Idle had a reasonable swim and bike. He felt really good starting the
run, and went through the first 10k in about 55 minutes. But soon after that he
started throwing up for some unknown reason. He kept on going for a bit, but he
wasn't able to keep anything down. He knew that the only way he'd get to the
finish would be to walk, and he couldn't see the point, so he called it a day to
save himself for Ironman Canada in 10 weeks.
Swim
T1
Bike
T2
Run
Overall
Andy J
0:59:49
4:30
6:03:36
2:48
3:49:41
11:00:22
Dion
0:52:00
3:36
6:32:12
3:51
4:54:11
12:25:48
Andy I
1:03:49
6:16
6:55:49
4:50
We've had people swimming,
biking and running in some exotic places these past few weeks. First up was Lyn
Hughes in the Victoria (British Columbia) marathon on 10th. He finished in a
very impressive time of 3:18, which is a personal best. And just in
case you don't believe it, there are some photos of him crossing the line
here. Next up was the Hawaii Ironman on 16th. Hawaii is the world's top
ironman event, and just qualifying for it is an achievement. It's therefore
pretty amazing
that no less than three people who swim with us were there. Andy Jackson did
well on the swim and bike, but then died on the run. He was overtaken by Ben
Bigglestone, who eventually finished 20 minutes ahead of him. But they were
both well beaten by Hawaii 'veteran' Helen MacVicker. Also competing was Peter
Mathieson from the White Rose club in York, who several of you will know from
the Club La Santa trips. Anyway, this is how they all got on:
Swim
Bike
Run
Overall
Helen
1:07
6:33
4:12
11:58
Ben
1:01
6:23
4:51
12:23
Andy
1:07
6:04
5:23
12:43
Peter
1:25
6:38
4:30
12:52
September 11th/12th was a
busy weekend for triathlons. Paul Freeman (30th in 4.33), Patrick Berkhold (59th
in 4.47) and Richard Lawrance (127th in 5.06) competed in the Vitruvian Half-Ironman
at Rutland Water on the Saturday, while Jo Bishop came a very creditable 69th
(1.14) in the Ilkley Tri on the Sunday. Full results are available via these
links:
Vitruvian
Ilkley
Congratulations to Gill (aka Flipper
Girl) and husband Kevin on the birth of daughter Jessica Elizabeth at 5.16pm on
Wednesday 4th. Mother and baby are both doing well and were home the next day.
Gill says that she hopes to be down at Masters one Saturday in a few weeks time.
In the meantime, here's a few pics:
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
It's a bit late, but I've
just come across Helen MacVicker's account of her experience in the Hawaii
Ironman last year. Click
here to read what she had to say. The full results for UK competitors are
here.
Fiona Hoare competed in the Lanzarote Ironman on Cup Final day. She finished in
12 and a half hours and was the second British female
home. Well done Fiona! And
this was despite her being pretty ill on the run. I'll spare you the details,
but suffice to say she was in a fairly bad way by the finish. You can check out
the full results
here.
Andy Idle's got yet another new email address. It's
idle@telefonica.net. Plus his 25 pool
is finished. He's also added some extra accommodation to the house so he's now
all geared up to welcoming anyone that wants to go over for some training or
even just for a holiday. His rates are very reasonable - about 12 quid a night.
You can see what the place is like at
idlebreaks.spain.com.
Lyn Hughes ran the Miami 'Tropical' Marathon on 31st Jan. He finished in a very
respectable 3.26.10. He actually managed to do a negative split (1.46/1.40),
which takes some doing in a marathon. Some people might say that he must have
set off too slow. But considering that he was running in foreign country with a
different climate, at a silly start time (6.00!), and probably suffering from
jet-lag, I think he can be excused for taking the first half very steady.
Well, the 'For Sale' signs have gone up at the International Pool. There's been
a lot of uncertainty over the future of the pool for a couple of years, so at
least we know now. There's a newsletter thing available at the pool that gives
more info. Basically, as expected, there's going to be a new pool built at South
Leeds Stadium. It should be ready sometime in 2006. The International Pool will
be in operation until the new pool opens. The council are currently looking at
'pay and swim' options in the city centre as South Leeds is clearly no use for
the many people who work in the city centre and like to swim before work or at
lunchtimes. Precisely where that leaves Masters training remains to be seen. I
can see the morning and lunchtime sessions being scrapped. Perhaps they'll be
replaced with less convenient evening sessions. It could be make or break for
Masters swimming in Leeds. Anyway, you can read the entire newsletter
here.
The big 200m fly
challenge took place on the last morning training session before Christmas.
Contrary to all expectations, both participants turned up. In the end it wasn't
as close as we anticipated due to Twinny unexpectedly not wearing his flippers.
Jim won comfortably in about 3.30, Twinny was around 25 seconds behind. Of
course, if it hadn't have been for the mouthful halfway down the third length
Twinny would have won easily! Anyway, if you've got a fast internet connection
you can download a video clip of the 'highlights'
here (it's best if you right click, then
'Save as', then play).
He's done it again! Dave Emerson lowered his six week old British record in the
50 freestyle at
the South Yorkshires meet at Sheffield. His time was an incredible 24.87.
Dave Emerson produced some tremendous performances at the Nationals at
Sheffield. He won the 50m freestyle in 25.03, which is a British record for his
age group (40-44 - I don't remember him telling us he'd turned 40!). It goes
without saying that he also broke the British record in both his fly events. He
won the 50 in 26.21, and won the 100 by quite a margin in 58.56. All the results are available on-line - click on
Results for a link.
Andy Idle paid a couple of visits to the pool
at the start of the month. He was over for a week for "a mixture of business
and pleasure". Apparently the 3 lane 25m pool he's having built at his place
in Spain is coming along nicely. When it and the new accommodation are
finished he's going to be running training camps for swimmers and triathletes.
A few of our
swimmers competed in the Ripon triathlon recently. Douggie Hart deserves a
mention for being first out of the water at the end of the swim. In the end it
didn't do him much good though - stomach cramps in the later stages meant he
couldn't run properly. Other people
that took part were Richard Lawrence, Paul Freeman and Alan Judd (used to train
with us, but not for a while). Jim Atkinson was one of the last finishers, not
helped by very slow transitions and time penalties for helmet and race number
violations! Also competing were quite a few of the White Rose triathletes who've been to La Santa with us. Anyway, you can look at the results
for yourself
here.
Andy Idle did pretty well in
yesterday's Lanzarote Ironman. Apparently conditions were really difficult -
windy and hot - which caused times to be generally slow. Andy finished the
swim first in his age group. He then had problems with his back on the bike
ride. He couldn’t use his arms to pull on the handlebars, so he had to rely on
leg power. As a result his legs had gone by the time he came to do the run. Andy's splits were:
Swim:
0:56:21
Bike:
7:07:46
Run:
4:56:12
Congratulations to those that competed
in the Swim marathon (or Swimathon as it's now known) recently. Apparently the
organisation left a lot to be desired and quite a bit of 'lane rage' ensued.
But Martin Cody-Owen's efforts deserve a mention. He might not be thought of
as being the fittest person around, but he entered the new 10k event. Rather
him than me, but his splits and overall time were impressive:
5000m 1.17
7500m 1.59
1000m 2.41.50
Some of Martin's comments:
"In
a nutshell, I would recommend it!"
"I felt a bit spaced out afterwards and kept to lemonade in the pub before
returning home early - if I had started on the beers I would have had to be
carried out!"
"Any takers for next year? You wimps?"
For anyone that doesn't know, Andy Idle has 'emigrated' to southern Spain.
They've bought a place about 40 miles inland from Malaga. It's near to
Villanueva del Rosario (map).
He plans to build a small 25m pool, add some extra rooms, then open for
business as a triathlon training camp.
