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The 25 Most Informative Posts I’ve Written

It turns our I’ve written a fair bit of stuff over the past few years – some 476 posts (477 if you count this!).  And after it disappears from my front page, a lot of it never really sees the light of day again without Google’ing skillz.  Or a photographic memory…which I don’t have.

So I decided to shine that bike light deep into my blog caverns and see what scattered about.  I’ve taken a look back and found stuff that either I thought was useful (or funny) – or that continues to find a trickle of readers via web searches or forum links.  So, without further ado – here we go:

Race Day:

When it comes to race day, there’s a lot of things to consider – and I’m not even talking about whether to wear the bring pink Speedo or the polka dot one.  Here’s some things to think about:

1) One big ice cube – swimming in cold water: How you warm up for the first 90 seconds of the swim will dictate how well your entire swim goes…

2) Swimming the line: Now that we’ve started the race, let’s look at strategy when it comes to the swim course.  I use race day photographs and satellite images to uncover the secrets – CSI style!

3) In Transition..T1..T1..T1: Assuming we manage to successfully get out of the water, it’s time to deal with the whole transition thing.  Here’s how to do it quickly.

4) Using CO2 for the first time: The little canister can be intimidating – but in a race, having a flat on the bike sucks – and CO2 will make it so much faster.

5) Racing the line – understanding how courses are measured: You ever wonder why your Garmin shows that you ran further than the actual race distance?  Well…click here to understand why – and to slim your time down while you’re at it.

The gamut – covering a wide range of topics:

I wasn’t really sure which bucket to put these into…so, they went into the ‘everything’ bucket.  It’s sorta like the ‘Easy’ button from Staples.

6) Travelling while training: If you travel a bunch – like I am this week and normally do – then check out my tips for how to still get your daily workouts in, even with a full flight schedule.

7) My requests to Race Directors: So this one is targeted at Race Directors – but here’s my list of things that I love – and hate.  And a ton of folks also chimed in with their comments too.

8) Coaching – choosing a coach: If you’re considering a coach for the year ahead – here’s a slew of things to consider when choosing your perfect mate.

9) Chocolate Milk vs. R4 Recovery Drink: It’s no secret I love chocolate milk – and here’s the low down on a big ole comparison between the two.

10) My little 10 seconds of fame on TrainingPeaks.com: Did you know I was featured on the front page of TrainingPeaks.com?  Well, now you can relive the moment.

Sports Technology:

I write a fair bit of technology-related stuff, and some of it gets lost in the shuffle.  Here are my most viewed pages related to sports technology and ‘How to’ type posts:

11) How to create and upload workouts to your Garmin device: You know how you write down your workouts on that scrap of paper and then go run with it?  Well, now have your Garmin simply tell you what to do next.

12) Bike Racks…and how not to have your bike fall off the back of the car: I call this Sports Technology.  You may simply call it hilarious.

13) How to train indoors with your Garmin device: This is relatively recent – but it’s pretty solid.  If the early March weather is still crappy (like it is for me), then this post is for you.

14) Sport Tracks Top 10 List: Assuming you don’t have a Mac, then Sport Tracks rocks.  Here’s all my tips for making pretty graphs and sparkly things from your data.

15) Training Logs: You love them, you hate them.  But…they help you remember everything you did.  Now if you could only decide which one to use.

Race Reports

If you read often, you know my race reports are almost as long as some of my product reviews.  Here are a few of my more favorite race reports:

16) The Boston Marathon 2009: I promise you nobody else has taken 150 photos during the race…while running…and then posted about it.  (P.S. – For all your growing cult of Rob fans, yes, tons of funny photos in there too)

17) GW Parkway 10-Miler: There’s a whole lotta reasons why this was entertaining.  Starting with self-taken pictures mid-race.

18) US Dextro Energy ITU Triathlon Race Report: Nothing beats a few solid mid-race puke.

19) Ironman Canada 2008: I’m sorry to the kid I ran over mid-race during the bike.  My bad.  Well…actually, your bad little kid.

20) Seafair Sprint Triathlon 2007: Given it was my first tri…it has to be on the list.

Funny (and perhaps informative) Posts:

I try and have my blog be a blend of useful informative stuff, funny stuff, stuff about me, and finally – everything else random that seems interesting to me on any give day.  I’m sorta like a ADHD firefly in that way.  Which may explain some of the below:

21) How I built the largest Rice Krispie Treat shoe ever: I think the title says it all here.

22) I’m no longer a girl – I’m a man!: I bet you didn’t know that I started out as a female…

23) Showering with my bike: Just click and read.  Trust me.  Nuff said.

24) My Giant Sac: You ever wonder what it’s like to unpack a giant bean bag?  No?  Really…never?  Well, read anyways.

25) Wearing a Skirt: There are some situations that the only appropriate solution is to dress up like a girl.  This would be one of them.

Thanks all for reading and stopping by – I appreciate it!

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20 Comments

  1. Those were some great post, I love the showering with the bike!!

  2. Yes, showering with the bike was classic but playing with your Sac was my favorite.

  3. Bob

    You know what I was looking for but couldn’t find? The post where you talked about some kind of internet enabled screen in your kitchen (or something) that could do pictures, weather, etc. Any chance you remember about when that was, or the post title? Thanks!

  4. Hey Bob!

    I picked up the HP Dream Screen, and so far it’s fairly nice – I like it!

    Here’s the post:

    link to dcrainmaker.blogspot.com

  5. Thanks for the summary post! I LOVE the race director post. You want to send that link to a bunch of them?

  6. Sammywoof

    I think it is OK but can you rotuinely shower with the Garmin Forerunner 610 ?

    Void warranty ? Any known problems ?

    Thanks !

  7. Hi Sammy-

    No problem at all – I do it all the time, and in fact, just got out of the shower with it. It’s IPX7 certified, which means 30 minuts at 3 feet deep – so a shower is no problem…well…unless you’re 3 feet deep for more than 30 minutes. 😉

  8. sammywoof

    Awesome and thanks for the super fast response !

    Great Blog ! I enjoy it…

  9. Hi DC,

    This is the best site. Keep up the good work.

    Question regarding Android Running apps. I know there are lots out there and I currently use RunKeeper. However it is very limited on the Droid. Do you (or anyone else reading this 🙂 ) know of a better product that does the following:
    – accurate (or better) current pace;
    – Customizable for interval work, like the Timex Run Trainer.

    Cheers

    Viktor

  10. Great post. I am glad to hear that your SS card now reflects your actual identity, it’s funny how easy it is for those things to get messed up, and how hard it is to get them changed when every other document you have says the opposite. i.e. Mine said “Anerson” until 5 years ago when I filed taxes for the first time with my spouse and got it changed. Apparently my parents didn’t care enough to get it changed. It’s obviously a typo to anyone who looks at my drivers license, passport, birth certificate, etc. etc. But at the SS office they act like they are right and the rest of the world (including yourself) are wrong…
    Why I actually am commenting is to suggest that you either update this post, or write a new top 25 posts list. This was written in 2010 and it looks like all of the posts are from before then; you’ve written a lot of great content since then and should consider writing a post that points out the top content from the last 3ish years. If you’d like suggestions I’d be happy to name my favorites so far, but I’m sure you have analytics that show you what have been the most viewed, shared, and/or searched posts that you’ve written.

  11. George Heywood

    Thanks for this. These are some great articles

  12. Real

    Random spontaneous comment: you are awesome 🙂
    Have a great day Ray…

  13. Peter

    Hi:

    I’m a recreational athlete–swimming, cycling and hiking–sometimes running. I’d like a watch that is a pedometer, allows we to count laps while swimming and overall calories; perhaps distance cycled, but not a deal breaker. All these fancy watches do too much. Is there one that does just these simple things?

  14. Ken Nickerson

    I have been an avid reader for years. I was just thinking that this might be a great post to update especially since it is on the front page of your site. I think I have read most everything you have posted, but I would be curious which posts you think are most informative based on feedback you have gotten from readers over the years.

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  16. Jack Heard

    I thought the Newsletter was free.