At least here in Germany, the sport of triathlon is growing quite fast. More and more people want to get involved in it and this is also seen on the competitions. By some competitions, it is today very difficult getting a starting slot. Frankfurt Ironman is one of those. The last years, it was almost impossible to get a slot. For 3 years ago all starting slots were sold in about one week. Last year it took only 12 hours.

Triathlon training

What is the reason that makes triathlon such a popular sport? Here is a list of some of the advantages of triathlon:

Test your limits
In triathlon you have an excellent opportunity to test your limits. There are races for up to 10 times the Ironman distance.
You can decide to do a triathlon as fast as possible or if you like to, you can decide to do an ultra event as the Ironman and just try to finish it. Or, of course, you can try to qualify for the Ironman World Championship – Ironman Hawaii.

Allround training
Due to the fact that triathlon consists of three disciplines, your body will get a thorough training. Swimming, cycling and running train the whole body. Another good thing about doing several disciplines is that you can train a lot without increased risk for injury. Professional triathletes train as much as 40 hours per week. That would be impossible for runners or cyclists.

Variation
Also due to the fact that triathlon consists of three disciplines, you automatically enjoy variation. If you on one day don’t like running, you can always cycle or swim. If the weather is too bad for a bike tour, you can go to the nearest indoor pool and swim. Other sports talk about cross training. Triathlon is cross training.

If you want a sport that really can challenge you, try triathlon!

Are you serious about running or about your Ironman training?
The Polar RS800CX will help you plan, monitor and analyse everything about your training. It is one of the most hightech hrms there is today. It helps you train at the right intensity. You can choose between heart rate or running speed as measurement of intensity.

The RS800 CX measures heart rate, running speed, cadence, distance and average stride length. Of course it also calculates other things like calories burned, time in different heart rate zones and much more.
It also gives you the possibility to check your fitness level through some tests. The tests should be taken at rest. I have tried the fitness tests myself many times, and I have also compared them to fitness tests done in the laboratory. The tests done with the RS800CX are very exact in comparison to the lab-tests. Error rate of a few percent only.

Another interesting function of the RS800CX is that it can tell you if you are resting enough. It will tell you if you should increase or decrease your training or if it’s already optimal.

Suggested reading:
Garmin Forerunner 405
Polar RS800CX Run Heart Rate Monitor Watch with S3 Stride Sensor W.I.N.D.
Polar RS800CX Multi Sport Heart Rate Monitor Watch with G3 GPS Sensor W.I.N.D.