CRASH-B Sprints: Interview with Bob Spenger

Here’s an interview with Bob Spenger at 2006 CRASH-B Sprints.

Who is Bob Spenger?

From Concept2.com:

Bob Spenger

Age: 81
Hometown: Big Pine, CA
Bio: Rowing history:
About 1932, age 7 or 8, I started rowing in heavy skiffs with fixed thwarts and oarlocks mounted on the gunnels.

Started sweep rowing at U.C. Berkeley in the fall of 1942, but went into the service in the spring of 1943 before the rowing season started.

Returned to UCB in the spring of 1946 and was a four year letterman, rowing bow in the UCB crew that won the IRA regatta at Poughkeepsie in 1949 (the last year that it was held at Poughkeepsie).

After almost 40 years away from it, I finally got back to rowing again in about 1990 with the Long Beach Rowing Association and the Newport Aquatic Center.

In 1994, I participated in the CRASH-B satellite regatta at LBRA and was surprised to learn that I had qualified for a trip to Boston. I wasn’t in position to accept the offer at that time, but decided make a go for it the next year when I would be 70.

In 1995, I made the decision to go for lightweight, since it was easier to lose 7 pounds than to cut my time by the 25 seconds that I would have needed to challenge the heavyweight record of that time. This strategy worked and I got the lwt record for men 70-79.

In 1996, I was fortunate enough to get a record again, this time in the newly established 2000 meter competition. In the years after that, my times were getting slower as I grew older, but the qualifying time was set at the record, so there was no way to qualify.

In July of 2003, I had a valve replacement along with a 3x bypass. It took several months to get back to a normal exercise routine, but by the beginning of 2004, I was back to using my model B ergometer again. Over the next year, I would try a 2000 meter once in a while, with mediocre results. I slowly worked it down from about 9:30 to about 8:51, which wasn’t exactly competition time. I went to the LBRA 2005 satellite regatta (18 months to the day after the operation) anyway, just to see what I could do at sea level, since I normally work out at 4000 feet. I saw that the qualifying time for Denver was something like 19 seconds higher than at sea level. Since Denver is at an elevation about a third again as high as here in the Owens Valley, I thought that I might be able to improve by 10-15 seconds. I was completely astounded when I managed to knock off over 31 seconds in the LBRA competition, beating the qualifying time by over 10 seconds. I had three goals at Boston. First, I wanted to win my bracket, which turned out to be no big problem. Second, I wanted to beat my Long beach time, which I had not been able to do in 1995 and 1996. This time it worked, so I was happy about that. I was unsuccessful in my third goal, which was to get a new record. I was close enough that I felt that I had the potential to do it, but it is hard to say if that will be true next season when I am a year older. The question is whether or not a proper training regimen can gain me another 5 seconds and also counteract a year’s aging.

There is no way of knowing based on the times that I do here at home, since there is a large gap between my time at 4000 ft and at sea level. Part of the discrepancy might be due to the fact that I got my model B (new) many years ago and it might have developed more friction in all that time. I was able to use it to set records for the 2004-2005 season in the 500 meter, 1000 meter, 30 minute, and 60 minute brackets, so I have been in the competition even at this altitude.

Rowing schedule:
I do not have a boat at this time, so my only rowing is on the indoor rower. As part of my (almost) daily routine, I do a light 10 minute pyramid warm-up on the rower. This consists of 2 minutes at 12 strokes per minute at a 2:50 pace, 2 minutes at 15 strokes per minute at 2:40, 2 minutes at 17 spm and 2:30, 2 minutes at 20 spm and 2:20, and then 2 minutes back at 12 spm and 2:50. The total distance is 1900 meters. This is followed by a set of stretches and light exercises, both dynamic and isometric. This takes 40-60 minutes and is mostly prescribed by physical therapists for back and knee strengthening.

There are times when I have to skip some or all of this routine, especially when I am traveling, but I average about five days a week. I also do some weight work a couple of days a week.

Training:
I have not been training specifically for rowing. I was told that I needed to spend at least 30 minutes each day with my pulse “in the zone,” in order to strengthen my heart after the operation. For me, this means getting it to 112 or better and holding it there for at least 30 minutes. Most of the time I try to keep in the 120 to 125 range. A couple of days a week I do this at a local fitness center by working on a treadmill for 40 minutes – 2-5 minutes to get up into the zone, 30-35 minutes in the zone and a few minutes to cool down at lowered speed and elevation.

Most of my cardiovascular work is on local hikes. From my home, I have a moderate 2 mile climb and return. Using a backpack, with a few pounds of weights added, I can get up into the zone early enough that I can get in the required 30 minutes before I turn and start down. I also do occasional long hikes at higher elevation, from 7,500 feet up to as high as 12,000 feet. I don’t take a heart monitor on these, but I am confident that I am getting the required training effect.

Earlier in the year, I was using the indoor rower about once a week for my cardiovascular work usually a 40 minute piece, but since the middle of May, it has been too hot in my garage to use it.

Best current 2k pieces:

At Long Beach, 1/29/2005: 8:19.7
At Boston, 2/13/2005: 8:18.1
There is no way I can improve these times here in Big Pine.