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.
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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!
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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.
Currently recovering from injury so I’m doing strength work and a long easy ride.
Rudolphs Rampage – a 7km hilly offroader, antler ears on of course!
Cyclocross Race in hometown
Banging out endurance rides on the trainer…mainly to avoid going to the pool.
Biking 500k the week of 12/23 to 1/1 on the big island!
Epic, very long mtb training.
75 minute trainer ride
On Saturday December 20th, I will be performing an inside Tri that consist of 400M swim, 20k stationary bike and 5k run on dreadmill.
2 weeks from now, on Friday Hanukka, going to run my final Long run toward ‘Sea of Gallile’ Marathon!
Jingle Bell Jog – a 5k race in Brooklyn, NY while wearing reindeer antlers
16k tempo run on Prague’s riverside!
A 32KM training run for my upcoming SCMM (Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon – January) slated for Sunday morning in Hyderabad, India.
Thanks Ray for the amazing coverage on all things training!!
Running 20k with my wife next week :)
Does surgery for a torn labrum in the hip count? If not, I plan on doing the selfish elf 5k a few days before I go under the knife!
3:30 Endurance training on Sunday
I will be doing Sufferfest – Local hero on Trainerroad this weekend. Garmin 920XT
11 mile run at 7:45 pace.
spinning hour this evening
4hr ride this coming weekend zone 2 steady state. Bring on the food!
Well, currently at work, but in about 2 hrs, the running group of the office is going for a 8k trail run, with santa-hats, to warm up for out company christmas dinner, to completely cancel out all hopes of gains today!
Hopefully, not all is lost in the schnaps-and-beer-haze, as I have a mountainbike duathlon on sunday!
10km run the lake race!
45mins of 3mins @ 90% FTP + 2mins @ 100% FTP, (290/320w)….Later today!
BCS Marathon on Dec 14th, my first full marathon.
Hello,
Here is one of my session for this weekend:
Turbo Trainer – Time Crunched
15 min – Z2
5 x 20s high cadence 40s easy
5 min easy
20 TT
10 Cooldown
I’m going to check out the Fulgaz (beta iOS app) – Kurt Kinetic Inride combination some more the upcoming weekend.
10 km trail race in Madrid on 20 December
I’ve promised myself I’m going to put some time in on the mountain bike before jan 1
NYRR Ted Corbit 15k.
Happy holidays…
La course des pères Noël le 13 décembre.
(Santa’s Race on 12/13)
Halfmarathon on 28th of December around a lake in Hamburg.
The idea is to get rid of those extra Xmas calories but I heard they have a very good food supply at that race….
Half Marathon – OUC Flirida
Brisbane red dress run on monday night.
A training ride from Queenstown to Wanaka next week
15 mi on Sunday – my first long run in training for Paris 2015.
Santa Klaus Half Marathon in Belluno (Italay), in the middle of the Dolomites!
A 3 hour bike ride in 2-3 degrees celsius
Glastonbury Santas Run
I’ll begin training in January for my first Ironman: Ironman Maryland.
10k run with an old running partner who is back in town.
Beat the one hour mark on bike from ETH Hönggerberg in Zürich to Paul Scherrer Institute 31.5km away, about half of which is in urban areas
Celtic solstice 5miler on 12/13
I plan on going on a 10k run with my pals here in the Philippines a week or two from now. After which, we’ll be having another 5k or so a day or two later.
Short 15 mile bike ride with some Boy Scouts that are working on their Cycling Merit Badge
The details of one workout or race that you’ve got scheduled between now and the end of the year.
Is to swim to the dead tree and back in my Lake Wyangan
Training session: cycle the Gold Coast’s 3 Bergs (Springbrook, O’Reillys, Binna- Burra)
No more races for me in 2014, but getting started at training for spring races with a 25k long run Sunday, with an increase in pace for the last 10k.
HM’ish run on the MTB track “Det roede spor” i Hareskoven close to where I live, using my new Suunto Ambit3 Peak christmas present (bought it myself :-) ).
Lots of TrainerRoad rides
42km full marathon race on this Sunday early morning in Singapore!
Continuing my winter build / base program with Sufferfest: It Seem Like A Good Idea At The Time. #IWBMATTKYT
10k run outside + 30min on rollers inside
Running a few miles later today
A 10K just for fun and a winter triathlon with family and friends in Quebec city!
I’m getting over a nasty IT band issue that’s kept me from doing anything since completing Ironnan Augusta 70.3. Starting back to running next week with a goal of completing a “long” run of 3 miles pain free
A 10K on the 31st in Reykjavík
16k trailrun in Houffalize, Belgium!
Keep on writing DC!
North Face 50 miler in San Francisco this Saturday.
I got three workouts planed till 15th december. Because then I will get surgery and won’t be able to do any sport for about a half year till one year. The three workouts will all be running my favourite 10k lap, no matter what wheather will be. I already miss the running. It’s always good to get your mind free.
I would choose the garmin 920xt, because it would be the perfect gadget to get back on track and do best on the physiontherapy.
Ray, just keep rolling like you always do. I can’t imagine any better way!
Rehab/PT, I’ve been injured since July :(
Cross-country skiing as soon as there is enough snow on the ground!
I’m going to do the classical Santa’s Race on December 13th
25k training run with good friends on 20th December in Germany
first speedwork session of the spring season!
Bike commute to work then 45min brick run. Ez spin home. Rinse and repeat.
Saturday long run tomorrow – 21K on the Vltava river bank in Prague.
Happy holidays everyone!
A 10 km run along Sydney northern beaches on January 31…great way to blast away those Xmas calories!
Runners world challenge of running everyday from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
I am really hoping for some warmer weather so I could get back on my bike a few more times before the end of the year. Otherwise tough to train without indoor trainer (hint, hint ;-) My last running race for the year is the Ted Corbett 15k in Central Park on Dec 13.
Zone 2 on the road base training tonight
I’m running a midnight 5K on New Years Eve with my family, we’ve done it for the past 4 years now. The race starts at 11:45 and you get to run through the new year, unless you’re ultra fast! It’s a fun race, my boys really enjoy it.
10k interval trial run in Warsaw next Sunday
10km at marathon pace (3:28min/km) tomorrow morning
A 2 hour skate ski to kick off the season!
The Nation’s Tri in 282 days – 1st Tri, went crazy while registering and decided to skip the Sprint distance and went straight to the full length. It should be an interesting year of training for it.
The Myton Hospice Santa Dash 2014
Running trough the Utrecht Dom Tower on my way to a friend who lives on the other side of town (16km, Sunday 7th)
Fartlek run today
I am doing the ColderBolder 5k this weekend with two of the boys and then the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon on the 22nd. Thanks for doing this contest.
I’d like to get back on the bike outdoors…had a minor crash in the middle of the year (3 broken vertebrae), but haven’t got back “in the saddle.” So I hope I can get the wife’s permission to take a road ride again. (I don’t want to be a ‘trainer-only’ rider at year’s end–which is pretty much why I haven’t started back with the trainer!)
The Santa 5k local charity run (in Santa suit)
13 km race on December 14th in Ismaning, Germany, hoping to break 50 minutes. Seven years ago, this was my very first race, and it took me 70+ minutes.
28 mile hilly bike ride on sunday with the Sunday Girls
Doing the Run Santa Run 5k this weekend in Madison, dressed as an elf!
a few base training rides along the Mosel And maybe sOme turbo sessions to work off Christmas dinner(s), ok make that a lot of turbo sessions.
Enticer triathlon next Sunday!
3 hour zone 3 ride, Christmas day morning, build up a nice healthy calorie deficit before starting on the Mahoosive Christmas Dinner – Roast Goose and all the Trimmings.
Group training ride with Tri Gulf Coast on December 14th.
Being new to the world of power meters and TrainerRoad, I’m a little obsessed right now. So…
An as of yet unknown TrainerRoad workout followed by a light 6 mile run.
I’ve got a Frosty 5k this weekend which I’ll be doing in my ugly Xmas sweater and crazy Xmas tights. I found some fun battery Xmas lights that I might try to jazz up the outfit with too.
Going for a 75k bike ride over the Hulftegg here in Switzerland mid next week.
A half marathon and a short aquathlon on the 20th
I’m running every day of December as part of the #Marcothon challenge
15km on Sunday just for funktioniert
3h endurance ride tomorrow – snow and rain permitting!
This evening, swimming, 500m test 4x100m intervalls, some drills and maybe another km.
A flat 10k race as a warmer-upper before a January marathon!
I have a long run planned for this Sunday.
St Jude Marathon. I’ll be doing the half. This will be my first event following treatment for tonsil cancer.
Swim, bike, run session to get basetrained for Ironman with sub 12h goal
Caught a chest infection the week I bought my first HRM, so as soon as my imune system can match my desire, I’m out there pacing 5k on road.