Heads up! The big Garmin annual spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8 (first sale to date!), $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965 at $499, the Forerunner 265, the new Instinct 3, and countless other Garmin products including inReach Mini 2. Plus the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium is on sale, and some Suunto & Wahoo product deals too. Full list & thoughts here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
2
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
3
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
4
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
5
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2024 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Commited to my first Marathon at Loch Ness this year today, so out for a 6 mile run tomorrow morning follows by a 13 mil run Sunday night. It is also new bike week so will be taking it out on it’s maiden voyage on Sunday morning before entering the Sport Relief Glasgow 50 miler next Sunday!
Saturday calls for a long run, sunday is gymday!
Back to running this weekend after stomach virus!!
Racing a local crit on Saturday with a long recovery ride with teammates on Sunday.
Just allowed to exercise after LASIK surgery. Thinking light runs. Could end up skiing.
Saturday morning: 5 mile run with my coffee shop pals at Team Joe downtown.
Sunday morning: 4 or 5 mile run with my coffee shop pals at Team Joe uptown
Probably a spin Sunday mid-day with Asphalt Green Tri Club, followed by volunteering at the JackRabbit Indoor Tri Series finals.
St Pats parade (no running involved) after a long swim…THEN I will run so no one will see how slow I am :)
a short spin on Saturday and then kicking off the 2014 season with a Sprint Tri on Sunday
Still recovering from a chest infection so will go for a simple 5K run tomorrow and a gentle hour or so on the bike Sunday where I’m helping out in a club TT. Not fit enough to do it yet.
Saturday – 10km road race followed by a spinning class.
Then a 2km swim on Sunday :)
Long rides on my Merida CycloCross,… Saturday 100-120 km – and on Sunday 60-70km – Restitution? Cold beers in the afternoon, when analyzing (and bragging) the rides on Garmin Connect/Strava :-)
Sat – easy 3 miles
Sun – NYC Half Marathon with post race beers.
today 15k run, saturday 60k bike ride, sunday 2km swim
+ foam rolling all the way
5k Parkrun Saturday followed by 20m marathon pace training run on Sunday!
saturday: 1 hour swim in 50 m outside pool (3km)
sunday : racing half marathon in Chartres (France) I hope in 1h25?
Long run on Sat, bike (probably trainer) on Sun and maybe a few games of racquetball….
55 mile bike ride on saturday
I’ll be riding up to Mt Hamilton’s Licke Observatory with my friend Pierre.
Alex
2:20 min bike / 20 min run Saturday
50 min run sunday
Three and a half hour ride on Saturday and a swim/ ride on Sunday. Last week of peak-hour training before Oceanside 70.3!
40km Cycling to bike shop and has a 25 km long run on Sunday.
Monday, Wednesday Friday running in preparation for the Linz marathon (not sure how many miles as of now), tuesday gymnastics and thursday rock-climbing. Hope all of you guys have a wonderful week!
Rest day Saturday, long run Sunday.
running club AGM tonight followed by a curry :-)
a short sea swim tomorrow and a longish bike ride on sunday morning with the new bayside triahtlon club.
no running just yet since achilles isnt 100%.
100 miles road cycling on Saturday.
3 hours road cycling on the mountains on Sunday (7,500 ft)
Got my cholesterol measured on wednesday, and it’s way too high since I almost stopped running this winter.
So this weekend I’m starting up again, with a 5k on saturday, and a long run on sunday (probably around 8-12 km).
Program says 6k swim, 2hour run on Saturday, then 6 hours bike on Sunday. Due to a Tenerife training camp next week the weekend will be easy with swim competition on Saturday 400m and 100m freestyle. Short bike on Sunday maximum 2 hours.
Saturday – Strength Training
Sunday – Two Hour Ride
9 mi run on saturday followed by coaching son’s soccer game
10 mile long run Saturday. (Building back up) 1 hour easy on Sunday.
Riding on the trainers doing 1 minutes intervalls
4km swim, 7,5k fast run and 1h indoor ride
Will be in Boston for the weekend so a run on Saturday and a bike/swim workout on Sunday
New Bedford Half Marathon! Gonna finally break 2 hours.
Just finished a week of skiing. Planning to get some miles on the bike this weekend!!
2 trainerroad workouts scheduled, one of them as part of a brick.
Planning to do recovery 1km swim and 10km jog after the surgery of clavicle plate removal two weeks ago!
I am still recovering from the Way Too Cool 50KM last weekend, so I plan an easy 10 mile run at 4am on Saturday and an hour swim (4000 yards) on Sunday AM (followed by hot tub to relax the muscles).
easy swim on Saturday morning, hard bike on Saturday evening, bike-run brick on Sunday
Sat is rest before a St. Pat’s run on Sun.
Well, eating Raclette with the family (my wife’s choice), watching a Movie in cinema (Kids choice :-) ) and on Sunday my choice will be a very nice run :-)
Saturday: Teach 2 60-minute indoor cycling classes – Zone 4 interval rides + Swim 1 mile + 3 mile job; Feet up Sunday.
Try to do a 10 mile run and hope my injured hamstring doesn’t completely snap.
Saturday will be a combination of gym classes including strength and core. Sunday will be a 12 km run – the goal is “GoteborgsVarvet Half marathon” in May
40k trail Saturday followed by 20 road Sunday to top up my 105km week
Run 10k Saturday and a gym day Sunday.
Sat – organizing short race event (5k race for 300pple). 2 easy runs – marking and cleaning the trace.
Sun – 22k aerobic trail run and then chasing my kids for rest of the day
Saturday is a 2 hour bike followed by a 20 minute run
Monday is a 30 minute recovery run trying to find a way around the local parade
An easy 3h ride on saturday before an all-out criterium sunday to get into the racing season rhythm.
Friday is weight training and Sat and Sun is supposed to be rest days, BUT since I was sick yesterday I have 2 miles to make up for (whichever day I choose). It’s Spring Break and my kiddos are ready for some fun, so it might mean taking them to the skate park and trying out my 40th birthday roller blades as well!
A nice long saturday ride with my cycling club to blow away the stresses of the week, and a shorter blast on sunday in and around my other social commitments. Hoping for the wind to finally die down!!
Swim session then a bike handling course [cornering, braking, etc.]
If I survive the onslaught of the germs from my kids I’ll ride my MTB tomorrow!
NYC half marathon
Going to put in a 2 full days skiing trees in the east while wearing plenty of green, and take my dog jogging on the trails in the evening now that it’s light out! (Thanks daylight savings!)
Plan is to ease back into exercising after having been out of it for four weeks due to surgery. I’ll probably do an hour or so on the treadmill tomorrow and another one on Sunday. (Yes, I’m doing it on the mind numbing treadmill, I want to be able to step off easily if my sutures are acting up.)
1 hour run in the N GA mountains!
Sat – Long Bike @ 70% of FTP (3-4 hours depending on time available).
Sun – 5k Race (normally would be long run at marathon + 45 sec pace). Short OWS in the afternoon.
As much as it is killing me I have no running workout plans. Healing up some tendinitis and out of commission until at least next week. My plan is relax a bit and do some light biking.
Lazy weekend coming up. Will ride the bike with the kids.
Sweet!
14 ‘ish miles on Saturday with my running group, 6 on Sunday.
Saturday- 30 minute run, 3 hour bike, 3k in the pool. Sunday – 20 mile run, 2.5k in the pool
1+ hour indoor cycling due to meniscus damage + possibly kettlebells workout.
Interval training on spinner/1 – 2 hours swimming/1 hour rowing
volunteering at a 100km race and then hopefully a nice 6 mile run and maybe a bike ride as well
Run an easy 8ish miles on Saturday and a St Patrick’s Day themed 5k on Sunday.
Since it will be a warm weekend, I am going to do some 1900 swimming. Give me legs a rest.
Sunday long run enjoying the beautiful weather
Friday: Indoor climbing
Saturday: 12km running
Sunday: Enduro MTB Trip
Sat is rest day, Sun is 16-18 mile long run
2 hour bike on Saturday. 7.5 mile run and 40 minute swim on Sunday.
Saturday 2 hour ride with 30 min brick run
Sunday 1 hour tempo run
Swim for an hour Saturday, rest Sunday
Run 26 trail miles Saturday, run 20 road miles Sunday.
2 days of P90X3 and a 2 hour trail run in the snow (Sunday)
A couple of 5 milers this weekend racing a half next Saturday!
45mi ride (up Kings Mtn, down 92) on Saturday, and an 8mi Double Dish Loop run on Sunday!
Just finished the fundraising Sport Relief Mile in exceptionally, hot summery Paris and got a 34k Paris Marathon training run tomorrow. If I win I’d like the prize to go to my running club leader, she is so inspirational and doesn’t have a GPS.
Swim tomorrow morning (~1500, I’ve been sick)
Work a fat bike demo (hope to ride some)
SSCX ride on the road Sunday 35-40 miles
xc skining, cycling and eating pasta :)
fits right in my training budget while unemployed!
saturday: 2-3 h bike ride; sunday: 3-4 h bike ride
6 mile run friday, 8 miles on saturday, 1 hour trainer ride on sunday.
5am(to avoid the heat), 27k trail run in sentul, Indonesia on Saturday followed by charity fun run in Jakarta Sunday for recovery! Followed by bicep curls with a few pints of guinness to celebrate St. Patricks Day! Hon Ireland!
Tomorrow I’m trekking in the Brecon Beacons and going over Pen Y Fan, Saturday I’m doing a costal kayak paddle in west wales and looking to cover 25 miles. Sunday I will be doing a 10km followed by a few laps in the pool.
Saturday 10km tempo run @ 4’10
Sunday longbase training 32km @ 4’50-5’00
I’ll start writing my bachelor’s thesis (need to be ready in May!!!). Did 26k run yesterday so today I’ve day-off and on Sat and on Sun will have some easy runs.
Thanks for all your great reviews, Ray!
I’ll be putting in about 100 miles on the bike this weekend on the American River Parkway in Sacramento.
2-Mile time-trial run on Saturday and a long ride on Sunday.
Just finished up a lunch time swim tomorrow I got a 10 mile run lined up followed by a 6 miles run on Sunday! Been a recovery week for me so I am looking to ramp up my pace this weekend!!!
3 miles today and a 12 miler tomorrow or Sunday.
40ish mile group ride on Saturday, if it doesn’t rain. If it does rain, then Sufferfest Blender for me!
50 minutes on Saturday, 18 kilometers on Sunday.
Two LSD rides on my road bike to get some important km in the legs before trainingcamp
I am training for my first 1/2 marathon in May! So, this weekend I will be running 7 miles. Looking forward to it with the 50 degree weather coming for Saturday!! Weights on Sunday.
17 mile trail run
Nothing special, the real training has to wait a few days… So just a swim and a short run this weekend…
Easy run 14k tomorrow morning in Regents Park and Hyde Park, followed by an easy endurance swim, 2x1000m.
Sunday early long ride to Richmond Park while the crowds are still sleeping, then off to the pub to watch the footie!
This weekend I will be participating in the Portland Or Shamrock run. this run kicks off the running season for many people. It will be my 3rd year doing it and am hoping to beat last years time. My run will be a very hilly 15k.
My last long run 16km’s and then heading to lucerne to relax the legs before my first half-marathon next sunday!