The Tollgate of the Potters (#754)

1 September 2025

I didn't see any evidence of potters anywhere at the massive Furzefield Leisure Centre in Potters Bar, the first town bordering London to the north ...

... but that's probably because the name dates to at least the 13th century, when, thanks to the rich clay soil in the area, it was known for its pottery. The "Bar" part comes not from pubs, but from the toll gate (originally called a "bar") that was setup here, as Potters Bar sat along the route of the Great North Road, the main north-south route for centuries from London to Edinburgh. Its location, about 12 miles from central London, made this a perfect first change-over point for horses. So, after the potteries, Potters Bar grew with inns, stables, blacksmiths and such.

As for the pool ...

.... I didn't want to risk the wrath of another photo-policing lifeguard, so I snuck upstairs and took a few quick snaps through the window!

This six-lane pool is 33 meters long, with a fixed-depth tiled 25 metre course ranging from 1.1M to 1.9M depth, the remaining length (in the right on the picture above) has a plastic, moveable floor which was set to 1.6M today. From the starting blocks pushed up against the far wall, mounted on some part of a bulkhead, and the generous stands, I gather they can setup a standard racing course when they want to.

I'm using my "forearm recovery" training time now to focus on my "pool tourism" and the #1001Pools goal, while aiming for perfect form in the water. I'm doing about 2,000 meters per workout, with more than half of each mixed between kick and drills. I'm very fortunate in my ~52 year long swimming career to have had no major injuries. This is only the second period in that half-century of swimming where I've had to back off the intensity, the last time being twelve years ago after I had pushed my training too hard during my age 45 year and developed the only shoulder pain I'd ever had as a swimmer. That resulted in 2013 being mostly a lost year when it came to competing, but I did emerge with some lessons:

• Form is healthy function - During that time, I again worked with my "freestyle whisperer," Coach Anne Wilson of Camelback Coaching. I have had the privilege of training with some of the world's best elite and masters coaches, but I think Anne is the best technician around. What she reminded me of during the 2013 time period is that swimming with the proper form has so many benefits - maximizes propulsion and minimizing resistance, but, most importantly, shoulder-protecting biomechanics.

• Pre-hab prevents rehab - I got connected with a great physical therapist, Todd Ellenbecker (see this and this) a guy whose primarily specialization was "overhead, single-arm shoulder-centric athletes." Think tennis players and baseball pitchers, but he also broadly focused on shoulder-centric athletes. He got me healed, but also left me with a routine that I've done religiously since then ... and never had any reocurring shoulder issues.

My learning from now, as I rapidly approach my sixth decade of life, is that I'll probably need to add these bursa/forearm pre-hab exercises to my existing routine.