Heart Rate Tracking + Upper Body Training
How to successfully plan and train for your first marathon– and enjoy yourself while doing it
By Dan Glover
Veteran runner, triathlete, and coach Dan Glover’s series on running your first marathon continues!
In this week’s installation, we’ll discuss two important but often-overlooked pieces of marathon training: tracking your heart rate and conditioning your upper body.
Heart rate
An important piece of training that is often overlooked is a runner’s heart rate. Paying attention to your heart rate can help you determine whether it is a good day to do a harder workout, and it can shed light onto how your body is feeling that day, regardless of how you feel that day.
A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Generally, a lower resting heart rate implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute.
It’s good practice to track your resting heart rate.
Take your pulse every morning at the same time, either manually or on a fitness tracker watch, before you get out of bed.
Do this for two weeks and calculate the average. That will give you a good baseline for your resting heart rate.
Keep track of your resting heart rate throughout the course of your training. A higher resting heart rate can indicate that your body is not feeling well.
So, if on any given morning your morning heart rate is ten or more beats above the previously calculated resting heart rate, you might need to take an easy day or take the day off. To train when not feeling well will more often than not cause you to feel even sicker. Conversely, if you're feeling a little sluggish but your heart rate is normal, a run may even help you feel better.
Upper body strength training
Adding the component of upper body conditioning to your plan can also have a positive impact on your marathon experience. Strengthening your upper body strengthens your running because it helps you prevent fatigue and improve endurance.
You don’t need to become a “muscle head” and start lifting heavy weights, if that’s not your goal. I suggest a program that works out your entire upper body– biceps, triceps, chest, back, and shoulders, along with your core– two times a week.
If you aren’t an experienced lifter, start off VERY light, with good form.
Use the lightest weights for a set of 8 repetitions.
Then do 6 reps with a slightly heavier weight.
Finish with 4 reps at a slightly heavier weight than the last. It should be challenging but doable to finish the last couple of reps.
Do this for all five upper body parts listed above.
Start with twice a week and increase the weight as you get stronger.
About the Author
Dan Glover has been running for over 45 years. He’s completed three Boston Marathons, fifteen Sprint Triathlons, and two Half Ironman Triathlons. He has been Varsity Coach for Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Track and Field, and Men’s JV Hockey Coach at Nashoba Regional High School for fourteen years, as well as being its Guidance Counselor. Recently, he qualified for the 2023 USA Triathlon Nationals, to be held in Milwaukee, WI in the summer of 2023.
