Heads up! Big sports tech sales have begun! Check out the massive list of everything, from 20%-30% off all smart trainers, to $200 off the Garmin FR945 LTE & $150 off the Edge 1030 Plus. Then $240 off Garmin’s Rally power meters (including MTB edition) and $200 off the Wahoo POWRLINK Zero Speedplay power meter. Plus deals on Varia Radar, rocker plates, more watches, action cams, drones, and more. Realistically the best deals we’ll see till November. Enjoy! Full and updated list here.
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with GPLAMA, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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My Paris Journey
We’re moving to Paris… tomorrow!
Yup, that’s right, we’re packing up shop and moving over to the land of …. and of chocolate macaroons! Actually, rather, we’ve already packed up shop – over three weeks ago. The stuff is slowly plodding it’s way across the Atlantic (just off the coast of Newfoundland as of tonight).
Moving into the apartment in 40 seconds
Last week, we showed you our final apartment selection with the House Hunters style series. However, getting all of our stuff into our apartment was probably even more fun.
Going to the farm and picking fresh produce!
One of the things we both really enjoy doing is going to u-pick farms and picking our own fruits and vegetables. In the past, we’ve primarily picked apples, blueberries, and strawberries. Given it’s fall (crazy, huh?), we figured it was time to go out and pick some apples.
The Beaches (Paris Plages)
Let’s make this clear up front – Paris is nowhere near a beach. The closest oceanesque body of water with sand is roughly 200 kilometers away – and the water there isn’t terribly warm either (the nice stuff is down south). So what do the Parisians do in the hot summer months (aside from close up shop and leave)? They truck in a boatload of sand and setup a beach right in the heart of Paris on the Seine.
My Paris Swim/Bike/Run Resources
Are you coming to Paris? Looking for places to swim, bike and run? Or just simply want to see where I swim/bike/run? Well, here’s the skinny on all my favorite training locations – complete with maps and downloadable routes.
Skyline drive is so nice. Blue Ridge parkway is awesome too. So many nice places to ride in that part of the country
Skyline drive is nice, Blue Ridge parkway is too.
25×800 is by fr my favorite run workout and 30×100 in the pool and then 20/20/20 on the bike at IM/HIM/OLY intensity.
A long run on the Deckers Creek Rail-to-Trail in Morgantown, WV. Depending on the starting point, I typically run the first 25% of the distance down hill, then the next 50% uphill, then finish the last 25% downhill (the trail is on a typical 1-3% grade.) I like to attempt to keep the heart rate from exceeding 75% Max on the uphill portions…not always successful.
Skyline is your favorite ride?! You’re a sick man. I’ve done Skyline from Front Royal to Waynesboro and it was the hardest thing I’ve done. It was definitely the most painful ride and the most memorable ride, but not a favorite.
Since you showed a picture of Hawaii for (one) of your favorite swim spots AND you said you like hills for cycling, I should point out we also have a nice little hill over here. link to cycletothesun.net
There used to be a road run that does this climb, but we’ve haven’t had the run in a few years due to permitting issues with the park service. It’s known as the only ultra that you can see the finish line from the start line. But riding or running, it’s a gorgeous climb. Mind blowing scenery.
As an aside, the picture you showed for swimming was down in Waikiki. There are much better swimming spots on the island(s). 🙂
Well. Alltime favourite running workout would be Mt Victoria in Wellington. Right in the middle of the city, a challenging hilly hour plus of trail running. They filmed some Lord of the Rings (Dark Rider, hiding down the bank) there. CBD running at it’s best.
Cycling would have to be the Akatarawa loop. A beautiful rural hilly ride. A tough 100-120 k.
I’m planning a speed workout on Friday followed by a 13 – 14 mile long run on Saturday. Possibly a short recovery run on Sunday depending on how my legs are feeling.
I think I’d like climbing a lot better if there were a perfect gear and intensity that lets you just roll up the mountain. Unfortunately my legs are still wimpy enough that, every time I do a moderately decent hill, I run out of gears, my cadence drops to around 50 and I have to heave my way up to the top with my quads burning like mad.
my favorite swimming workout:
800m warm up
5*100m start every 1 min 20 sec. (for an advanced swimmer)
200m recovery
5*200m start every 3 min (a bit more resting time, so a bit more speed)
200m recovery
500m race speed
250 cool down
the aim is to build up the speed during the training.