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…
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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.
This year, i add swimming to running. Also looking to buy a indoor trainer for some bike trainning.
Last year i ran 5 times a week outside, in the snow.
I also play hockey once or twice a week.
I live in Arizona and while it does get cold(to us living here at least) I don’t have to change much. Instead of a short sleeve t-shirt to run in I will wear a long sleeve t-shirt. I might have to wear gloves. While riding I just have to wear a base layer and warm and knee warmers. Swimming, the pool is heated. I have mastered getting out and getting dry a fast as possible
I continue the same training schedule, even with the cold winter weather in Michigan; just no outside swimming and I wear a lot more clothing!
Skiing and trail running
I hate winter for this very reason! Running on a treadmill is way too boring, but I try to avoid running in the dark at night. All I can do is bundle up as much as possible and try to drag myself out of bed for morning runs.
Still enjoy riding during the Winter. Will spend a bit more time at the gym, though.
Year round moderate weather in San Francisco, although possible El Nino rain may make this winter much wetter.
In central Fl the only real change is: Thinking about wearing a long sleeve shirt.
Change from running and cycling to crossfit, snowboarding and the indoor trainer…
Warmer clothes for starters. When the snow comes, might have to move inside more, or screw some bolts in my shoes!
Weather in Ontario, Canada is great & I’m still getting outside on my bike.
Living in colorado , just add gloves and hat, go running in snow with my snow dogs (siberian huskys) best training partners
Trainer during weekdays and a ride on Sunday if it does not rain
Basically, I just move everything except running indoors. For my rides, I use a good old fashioned cyclopes magneto pro, traineroad.com and the speed/cadence and power meter I have on my bike. I have not started swimming yet but I expect to in the next few weeks.
My training won’t change at all, I’ll had more layers. I’m also going to do some skiing in the Swiss Alps ;)
Keep on running with proper gear, Yaktrax and co if need be :)
Not much change here in San Diego. Just bust out the long sleeve shirts and pants. It’s nice to be able to run in the afternoon without blazing heat.
I will be hitting the treadmill and stationary bike a lot more. I will occasionally hit the outdoors in Michigan if the weather permits just with lots of layers. Also planning on doing some strength training this winter so come spring I will be ready to hit it hard again.
I focus more on strengths training and trainer rides.
I moved from NYC to LA to adapt my training for winter. I can officially state it worked out great!
Don’t have to change too much living in southern Louisiana.
I keep running and do some cross country skiing, also keep doing weights,
only need more clothes for the training especially when it is -20C
I just had on extra layers of clothing and have to be attentive no to get caught out in the dark without the bike lights.
As we don´t have winter here in Colombia where i live, we don´t have to change the training, but we still have an off-season so normally i change the routine and do more gym workout, but keep swimming, riding and running when i want but without any pressure, and i also like to try different options like rock climbing and a bit of rowing.
Living in Colorado training during the Winter season moves indoors. I replace outdoor running with running on an indoor track with a foot pod (thanks Garmin!). Biking moves indoors as well using a Kinetic machine.
Florida doesn’t require much more than an occasional set of sleeves.
Don’t shame me please ;)
I retreat to the treadmill and incorporate some swimming.
Put a couple much clothes on, because we often see -25°C here. Change the MTB by the fat bike and go outside.
I generally enjoy training more in the winter vs. other times of the year.
I do a lot more trail running, and a lot longer training runs, in a nearby woods that is generally too soggy and full of ticks in the warmer months.
And I bike on weekends whenever the roads aren’t too icy.
Skiing and a lot of time on the true form and rollers.
I live in Norway, so I move indoors to the treadmill and the KICKR. And Netflix :)
In Winter, I run with a head lamp, and with my trail shoes on the snow.
Living in northern IN, along with the fact that I’m a fair-weather athlete, means I spend 99% of my time indoors not only during the winter, but also most of the spring and fall!
I run and swim (pool) more with less cycling as the cycling is on the trainer and I admit that I find riding on a trainer about as appealing as having a tooth pulled.
I live in Boston, and I just layer up and go. If it snows, I run while focusing on my balance. (They are pretty good about clearing the paths) If it’s slushy I hit the treadmill as my last resort. All I hope is that we get a little less than 110.6 inches of snow this year. Oh, and I miss Miami.
staring at the walls in the pain cave…..trainer and treadmill here we come!
Wrap up warm and train hard!
We don’t have winter in Singapore but just wetter.
I still run, though not as much due to shorter days. I hit the trails on the weekends. Also hit the gym and the pool a bit more.
I’m in Ohio so winter can mean a blizzard one weekend and 60’s the next. I train exclusively indoors during winter so I drop the long distance and focus on short high intensity sessions.
I get out on my bike year round here in Sweden, if there’s lots of snow I probably do some xc skiing instead.
I Hibernate.
Binge watch Family Guy on the bike trainer.
hat gloves and away we go
As a cancer survivor I’m more focus on indoor workouts to combat muscle wasting while still maintaining cardio with swimming and some short runs. But the goal is to keep moving and collect data to monitor small and big changes over time.
I come back to swiming pool more often, I take more clothe to run and add several lights on the night to run safely. I choose best weather day on Winter to go outside.
Go indoors… and more ice hockey
Crap, 2000 entries already, Oh well, here goes nothing.
For me, It’s time to dig out the Turbo Trainer
Fenix3, let it be me; its fancy!
cross training and kickr scheduled rides
Layer up for the run, spin up the Kickr for the bike.
I love running outdoors no matter how cold, but when the roads pack with ice, I head indoors to the treadmill.
I live in Georgia, so I just keep on training. Maybe a long sleeve shirt.
Hi,
Due to my job i m travelling a lot and i use to do outdoor training with adapted clothes and materials (bike lights shoes….)
Just missing an assistant coach :(
See ya
I’m one of those lucky ducks living in Southern Arizona! It still gets cold here – the bike trainer is on Standby, and so are lots of layers. Swimming outside year round is awesome, but my parka and boots are ready to go! Continuing the full S/B/R routine – I prefer the to take the 110F summer as my offseason.
Warm clothes for evening running and a wahoo Kickr in the basement :-)
Kind regards
Kenni, Denmark
Up here in the Midwest, it’s almost impossible to avoid the treadmill in the winter. If it gets above 20 degrees I’ll head out (if there’s no ice!) I don’t have the opportunity to get away so I just slog through and try to spend a little time on the treadmill and the bike trainer.
Winter here just means plenty more outdoor training. SoCal is a tough place to live!
Yak Tracks and handwarmers
Mountain bike with studded snow tires. Run in trail shoes with deep lug outsoles. Swim indoors (ugh chlorine).
Here in south Florida I gets chilly in the morning and a more windy but other than that . . . no change.
I bought a Vortex Smart a few weeks ago, so prepared for a long ‘indoor’ winter with Zwift here in UK.
More layers…same training. Texas really isn’t all that bad in the winter so I’m lucky.
I do ride my indoor bike trainer instead of going outdoor when the roads are wet and slippery. Lots of threshold interval training gets me through.
So cool ! need one fenix 3 !!!
I add layers and try to run through it. If the footing is bad I hit the treadmill but otherwise I try to stay on the road and resent the hell out of winter.
I try to keep practicing the same sports indoors during winter. Why look for a change when they’re the best!
I’m based in Houston, TX… Winter means more training as there’s less humidity and heat, summer is the challenge!
I will be putting on warmer clothes and still trying to get outside when I can. I also do a lot of strength training during the winter.
I just look forward to running in the snow and enjoy the pleasure of XC season!
This year however I am also going to try turbo training and increased swimming ahead of giving tri a real go next year.
Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer and loading up on cold weather gear and getting out into the fresh air.
I’m in Switzerland so I get real winter here. But the training doesn’t change with the weather. It is adapted according to the races I prepare, no matter the weather.
I normally just don more cold weather gear and some waterproofs!
I love seasons so I add cross-country skiing and snowboarding – plus indoor trainer riding. And red wine becomes more prominent!!
While it is still reasonable here in sunny SoCal, by the time I get out of work it is dark so I’ve switched to lifting weights and building up some strength while getting a run or two in on the weekends.
I usually end up in the gym for most of the winter lifting things up and putting things down.
I have only been doing the training thing for two years now,so this is my second winter. Being as though in Southern California we virtually had no winter last year I didn’t have to change anything. This year hopefully being wetter and colder see myself hitting the treadmill a bit more, occasionally having to run wet or with a long sleeve running shirt. Yes I know I am spoiled.
More indoor training (stationary bike, pool, yoga).
I live in phoenix. Winter is the best season to train. I get to sleep in on the weekends and can still get some tough workouts in.
Add layers and just get on with it
Winter?? What’s that? Down in the southern half of Florida, that just means I can finally run outside again without ending in a puddle.
During winter I Simply adapt my training with great cross country skiing sessions and swimming pool!!!
Winter is all about the cross training in the gym and healing up for another year.
Well, more indoor cycling for sure. Running outside isn’t too much of a problem here. Only occasionally too cold to run and rarely snow/ice, so that pretty much stays the same.
Living in Canada, I run through the winter as long as it’s above about -20C. The bike goes on the trainer, and I’m just learning (again) how to swim.
For me winter means going to the gym more frequently – running outside with warmer clothing – wind protection ; gloves. I also change the running “parcour” – In winter we get less daylight -where I live usualy by 17:20 is already dark – my usual running spot has no artifical light at night – it becomes too eary to run – even with head lamps – so I change de “parcour” to a near by place where I can get artificial light and a more even ground.
I mount my studded tires and Bar Mitts on my bicycle and try to keep going. Sometimes the tires just aren’t stable enough, though. An indoor solution isn’t an option, yet, but probably coming.
Usually shifting over more to run from biking in the winter. Biking still is fun, but I skip that, if weather is too bad (cold and wet), then trying to shift towards running.
Also focusing more in body core training.
Lots of clothes while running in the dark. For cycling more indoor trainer stuff with intervalls. Also mor mtb instead of roadbike
A lot more turbo sessions, no club open water swimming so add an extra run session
Just keep on goin’. normal schedule normal routine, not made of sugar :)
I put lights on my dog and myself and go running in the park as it is very cold we both have vests and gloves (boot’s for the dog) still get in our 10k three nights a week.
Slightly later starts for rides, at least until the sun comes up, on the weekends. And sitting on rollers in the garage on weekdays. Yay, for the combination of a RaspberryPi and a media server.
In general I focus more on strength training during the winter. I still keep up with running and cycling workouts/commutes except for the dead of winter when it dips into the single digits. Up until that point I can keep warm by layering, but when it gets to the single digits I can’t stay warm cycling. Instead I up the intensity of swimming and lifting, but I usually keep running.
More core and strength training (3 times a week) as well as indoor swimming and cycling.
I keep on running outside 2 or 3 times a week
I just ordered a Tacx Vortex to try out Zwift and get some power readings, I swim more than during the summer, and, oddly, I need to start marathon training for my first in Feb… so outdoor running shall continue into the tundra!
I live in the Northeast, so bicycling becomes very tough with icy, snowy roads (though not impossible!) I’ve tried swimming indoors, as well as putting the bike on a trainer. Neither work for me: too boring. So I go to my old standbys which are nordic skiing and backcountry alpine skiing (i.e. no chairlifts to help you up the mountain).
I moved to Houston, TX from Chicago.. Winter here means I may need to wear a hat.. not even a wool one… No change for me!
I wear a thermal layer on top, a band to cover my ears (and a hat!), running tights, and, when possible, I try to run a little later in the morning when it is a little bit warmer. I also have a very consistent running buddy who is always there and undeterred by dark, cold, or rain!