Heads up! The big Garmin spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8, $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965, Forerunner 265, and countless other Garmin products. 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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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.
I plan to do a night run as soon as the first snow has fallen with a headlamp.
I like it that the snow makes everything so bright.
(PS: It’s too bad that your give away list doesn’t contain any powermeter ;-) )
14k, 90min long run next week (in the dark and in the cold likely ;))
Today I rode to work and will be riding back home with my fatbike. 30 km altogether.
After a month of no running back to MAF training over the winter!
My goal is to recover completely from injury and have a sub 20min 5k training run.
Looking forward to a Christmas Jingle 5k on 13 December!
One of the workouts coming up – a sub 1:20 trail run up Mt. Wilson, approximately 6.7miles long, 4600′ gain. Hopefully the weather cooperates!
10k run on Sunday
CIM this weekend. Hoping for a marathon PR.
By the end of the month I will have completed my goal of 500 miles for the year (running)! Just 63 miles left to go….
On saturday I have planned to do a combined strength and aerob endurace free roler bike workout. First some excercises from my physical therapist to strengthen my knees. Then the rolers:
10 min warm up
5 min @60rpm @73% HRm
5 min @105rpm @73% HRm
no breaks, 5 repeats
10 min cool down
A 20min run at a super-slow pace tonight, on the road to recovery from a knee injury.
I have scheduled a 10.2k Santa Clause Race this Sunday.
50 yards on the :50 sec interval for a entire hour (1 through 4 hard and 5th easy…then repeat until hour is over)
10km road race on sunday!
I’m planning a Boxing Day 10k to recover from the day before!
I’ve not got scheduled any special race, but there is a lot of workouts planed and I hope will be snowing!
This evenings training
Light interval run
15′ warm up (Z2)
3′ – 2′ – 1′ – 2′ – 3′ (Z3)
with 1’30” recovery (Z2)
30′ run + cool down (Z2)
Running an indoor 5K on Saturday. This would be the 1st time that I can actually run a 5K. In fact it’s the last session of a training I’ve been going through since the beginning of fall. very excited :)
No races any time soon, so just maintaining with lots of strength training, a 9 miler on Sunday, and lots of trainer road sweet spot rides.
1.5k swim in my lunch break :)
On Sunday (7th) I’ll be running the Santa dash in Glasgow joining several thousand other idiots who will all be dressing up as Santa and running through the city centre! Can’t wait!
The “Duell der Gigangen”
Silvesterlauf in Zurich. A 10k race, hopefully whitout snow… :) 12-14-2014.
My race parameters (actually there are a few alarms on my fenix):
– keep under 4:45min/km
– keep under 190bpm HR
wait for snow to fall and then go x-country skiing!
10-15k recovery runs on weekend.
Riding around Lake of Como (approx 160 Km) on Sunday.
This weekend: 2 x (3K + 2K + 1K), with 1 min rest and 2 min set break. 3K at marathon pace, 2K at half marathon pace, 1K at 10K pace. I want it to be 3 sets but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet after some inconsistent training this fall.
Mt. Mitake 15km Trail Run on Dec 14th. About an hour out of Tokyo by train.
45min run tomorrow morning, best way to start the weekend.
Locarno triathlon
Fartlek Pyramid:
Warm Up : 10-20 min plus drills
Main Set:
– 1:00 Run (RI: 30)
– 2:00 Run (RI: 1:00)
– 3:00 Run (RI: 1:30)
– 4:00 Run (RI: 2:00)
– 5:00 Run (RI: 2:30)
– 4:00 Run (RI: 2:00)
– 3:00 Run (RI: 1:30)
– 2:00 Run (RI: 1:00)
– 1:00 Run
Cool Down: 20-minutes Easy
Going to Club La Santa right after chistmas to kick off traing for the 2015 La Marmotte
My 45 km commute on 06:00 monday morning. With 3x 15 minutes of endless interval pain.
Could really use one of your recommended powermeters for that ;)
I will again go on a 100km ride with my wife before celebrating christmas as you have to earn it.
I’m just working on my Base and losing weight for December. Kinda boring really. I’m running while listening to my audiobooks this whole month during my daily 8.7 mi comfortable run at roughly bpm. I tend to run faster without the audiobook so I’m using it as a tool to slow me down while I get back to my race weight.
A 5 km Independence Day run with friends in Helsinki, Finland on 6th December :)
Next Tuesday I’ll be doing a full cardio medical checkup with all kinds of tests on the treadmill. If approved, I’ll start preparing for my first ever marathon next April.
Plan to ride up to the pfitscherjoch (50.52km, 1.542 m up, 405 m down) as a roadmovie-tour at home on my ergometer on sunday :-).
i wish i win something because everything in the list is a must have !!!!!!
The Singapore parkrun on the stop over from Leeds, Uk on my way to Australia :)
The “Run The Lake” 10K in Athens, Greece next Sunday
A sub 1:20 half marathon!
The Kielder Off Road Duathlon on Sunday……and knowing the UK its going to be freezing!
2 hour bike ride tomorrow. First one in a couple of weeks after a nasty knee injury. Can’t wait to get back in the saddle!
120 K cycling training loop beetween Tours and Blois, with at least 3 series of 10 speed peaks, if it is not too slippery.
I’m planning on 100+ mile ride along the Pacific and through the mountains of Santa Barbara.
A simple 10k run around the local park to start getting myself back in shape
Continuing on Sweet Spot Base Midvolume I on Trainerroad with my KICKR.
Interval rides on my new Cycleops Powerbeam!
Since it is getting cold here in Toulouse, more indoor workouts: RPM on Friday, Bodyattack on Saturday and 85km cycle on Sunday.
Hopefully a recovering 5k run after a 3 months break caused by a patellar tendon injury.
I’ll be running the tough Dragon Age Origins marathon the whole week since I didn’t hurt my calf there.
10k long sunday off season run :)
a 7km HF141: training for the PWN Egmond Half Marathon begin 2015.
The Xterra Trail World Championship Half-Marathon in Oahu.
10km run on Sunday
a 10k at the Bramfelder Winter Run series (run #2) in Hamburg, Germany
My most important planned workout for December is a high volume, high intensity intervals of CH and proteines intake. WI 2 hours, RI 22 hours.
Nice ride up and around the Berkeley Hills.
If I win, I’m getting the Barfly! :-)
This weekend’s North Face’s Endurance Championship in Marin/SF. Doing the 50K so I can gawk and get passed by the pros doing 50M.
Going to do my Christmas morning long run, which has become a bit of a tradition now. Usually about 3 hours at a pretty cruisy pace, maybe a bit less this year. Head out nice and early on the almost deserted streets and get home just as my family starts getting out of bed. Great start to the day.
An MTB ride on the beach and in the dunes of the Belgian coast, aprox 50km
Got a muddy and cold Trail Race this Sunday on a scenic route where you can see two lakes and the sea close to Rome.
Use my commute as my work out so 26km each way every day in North Scotland.
Hi. 15´CCL+40´(3´U.An+1´CCL)+10´CCL. All running. Aproximately, TE:3,4 and 15 kms.
Lot’s of sessions lined up – one that stands out though is reverse half distance day. Starting of with a probably cold morning run to 90K on the bike, again probably cold and finally swimming in the pool (I suspect however that this might be replaced with a hot tub session..)
10k tt in 2 weeks, for sub39…
I will for sure do another FTP test on my soon to be worn out trainer.
Handed in my thesis yesterday, so today it’s a 200km ride through Wales
The same as every year, a long and cold christmas training ride
working on (slowly) increasing my daily mileage… run run run!!! finally made a schedule and I am trying to stick with it.
50km ride up Mt. Lemmon for some winter base training!
Swimming swimming swimming ’til Christmas and beyond. Weak point.
Up to Camp Pendleton and back on the sunny Southern California coast – as many days as possible.
Just a short indoor rowing session before work on Saturday.
I’ll be running the San Silvestre in Logroño, the last day of the year.
On Sunday: “Nikolauf” in Tübingen, Germany, half marathon with 300m up and down. My goal is a time of 1:45, let’s see how it will be going.
I ruptured my achilles tendon 8 weeks ago and my cast will be removed in one week. So my goal before year-end is to be able to walk crutches free from the kitchen to my room!!!
Swimming every day before work for the next 10 workdays (starting on Monday)… At least that’s the plan.
60 min cycle zone 3 (indoors – low gear, high cadence), followed by 5k(ish) run at zone 3 this Sunday.
Continuing with TrainerRoad Sweet Spot base – mid volume 1, tonights session is Geiger.
10 km “Carrera solidaria BBVA” in Madrid next Sunday.
On next monday: One hour cross training set followed by a recovery swim at a local pool.
Peoples TRI – olympic distance triathlon in Auckland in two weeks.
My workouts for the next few weeks are base-building, as I impatiently wait for my half-marathon training plan to start in January – I’ll be running the 10th Annual Colfax Marathon for my second time in May.
New year’s eve race in Kristiansand :) 4k, hopefully without snow.
A race – a short (4 mile) trail run in the woods… At night!
I will participate at Firenze-Fiesole-Firenze 16km to climb the hill and come back.
I’m currently not allowed to run (doctor’s orders) so I’m just looking forward to getting back to training, because I’m getting a little stir crazy being stuck at home!
I plan on attempting the ~25km Jonkershoek Mountain Challenge (a trail race in South Africa) route before the end of the year to gauge how much training I need to do for the actual event next year.
Race season here is over, but I am planning a week of daily gran fondo’s (130KM) from Christmas Eve to New Years to discover some new routes and get some valuable saddle time
A 1Km verticale in south-east albania.
Super Sprint Triathlon at Limassol Cyprus on 28/12!!! Its going to be colddddddd!!
Have a FREE sprint distance triathlon planned for December 28th here in Auatralaia. Its more about the encourgment of our sport then who comes 1st.
Since I have a 50 miles trail race planned for January I need to get a long >4 hours trail run in soon.
Whister Granfondo!
Running in the Lake District. No time limit, no milage goal. Just go out and run.
10k race on 14 december. São Silvestre de Ovar (Portugal)
8k easy running on Saturday with my two dogs.
5k easy jog.
I’ve the Merthyr Mawr Christmas pudding race next weekend, up and down sand dunes with a free Xmas pud at the end!