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.
Flooring installation was my workout for last couple of weekends, it’s pretty intense on you knees and your legs, hopefully it’s gonna boost my leg muscles too since you are always in a squat position.
I started with a Sunday morning swim with the family to be followed by a marvelous 55k ride on Zwift.
Rehabbing a torn muscle in my back, lots of walking lunges and lightweights for high reps…heal baby heal!
18km long run around the city. It was snowy and cold =)
Nothing – recovering from surgery.
Light rehab training for my bad knee is all that is on my training log since a few weeks back. But hopefully I will soon be able to do som running again.
I had a pretty full on weekend, Saturday 40km TT ride on a trainer follow up with a 10km TT run, Sunday 21km pace building run and 2km easy pool swim.
Getting back from an injury, 34 km of running!
Went to Åre in Sweden at skied both days. Nice to do something different than running for a change :)
This past weekend was planned rest, on Saturday a session of stretching and complete rest on Sunday.
2.5 hour group ride and 30 minute recovery swim on Saturday followed by an hour run on Sunday.
Medicine ball workout followed by a long hike with the dog Saturday, Sunday was a FitStar bodyweight program in the basement
Climbing up Mount Baldy.
It was a easy weekend with only a 13km run on Saturday, including a Parkrun in that.
Bike intervals Saturday then Sunday, last long run before IMNZ
I was on vacation last week, but still got four long runs in and a couple short swims in the ocean!
cyclist here…I did 2×20 L4, followed by 1×20 L3 and 1×15 L2 on Saturday. Sunday I took it as an active recovery day for a TT that was yesterday.
13.5 Hours total…6 hours of bike (all on Trainer Road), 3.25 hours of swim spread out across 3 swim days..and the rest of it was run (some treadmill interval and incline work) and 1 longer run over the weekend. Also 2 short weight sessions
I’m more a indoor guy so gym and run inside. Also in Madrid is sooooo cold these days.
Nice 12K trail run on Bowen Rd., Hong Kong
I had a swim workout scheduled at one of few olympic-size pools in Warsaw. However, due to logistic complications I ended up building up calories rather than burning them ;)
Saturday was threshold run, Sunday easy 90min run with dog.
I did a few easy runs in order to get freshness before 10km cross which is on Saturday ;)
Nothing but fun mtb rides now that cx is behind us
Still building my base back up. The highlight was my first run this year above10,000 feet. Did a 5 miler outside Breckinridge, CO.
Hiking around the south downs
60 minutes on the trainer followed by an easy run with my two four-legged running partners.
I had planned a ride or two on Zwift but ended up just taking on a short elliptical session instead. Need to find some time to train for my next tri.
I completed my first marathon, the Austin Marathon, at just under goal time!
5 mile run and bodyweight exercises
A nice, moderately paced 10k on the Saturday for me, by the river near our house.
Pool swim session on Sat
50 mile cycle Sunday morning. Can’t run as am awaiting ankle ligament reconstruction surgery.
Some light running and surfing! Still hope that Garmin develops something nice for surf.
An hour on the trainer and 100k on Saturday. Still getting back into the swing of things.
3 blocks of trainer time over the holiday weekend. Working toward a spring century ride.
Spent quality time with my valentine, but still managed to fit in core / strength work.
I did two trainer rides with Bkool (55 min & 1:15 hr.), and one 60 min workout on my elliptical.
Indoor bodyweight exercises due to polar vortex bringing temps below 0F
I was supposed to do some basic running and crosstraining so I could run longer distances. However the skies really poured down so instead I gathered strength to face a new week. :)
A 2.5 hour trainer ride and a 12 mile run.
I did a swim/ run brick on Saturday and then did my long run on Sunday.
I tried to be brave after a marathon a week before and ran 6 miles with a training partner who didn’t race. Epic fail with a fatigued HR and dead legs. Guess that’s what I get for a PR!
Computrainer workout with 13 riders also avoiding the sub-zero temps and then a swim the next day.
The entire 2nd week training plan from the FTP Workout Plan from Zwift!
Dit a 45min ride on trainerroad, that should have been a 2 hr ride. After 1 long interval it was clear my cold was not helping!
Team CrossFit Workout on Saturday consisting of pullups, deadlifts, overhead holds, planks, and pushups
Saturday was longer run in the snow and Sunday was mainly aerobic effort on the rollers.
I’ve just adding indoor cycling to my routine thanks to the highs of 17F. Really could use a decent trainer!
The weather was not good Sunday, so I went to the gym. I did 2 Mile run. Then I did 30 minute Cycling interval training.
Just a short run in the rain.
We had some excellent snow on either side of a raging blizzard on Saturday so I was able to get out and do a couple of days of cross country skiing. The temp is going from -8 Celsius to plus 8 today with a boatload of rain so we’ll likely lose the snow but it’s only February yet.
Indoor Bike training. 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Zone 2….Zwift makes it a little better
Last week I ran 3 times for a total of just over 11 miles as I completed the Couch to 5K program! This is a big deal for me as I meet the criteria for obesity and am working to lose some weight. Completing the C25K program has inspired me to continue with the Couch to 10K program.
2500 yds in the pool, an hour and a half of intervals on the trainer and an easy hour of aerobic running on the treadmill.
A 20min max meters row, an olympic lifting session, and a CrossFit workout.
Mountainbiking on Sunday
1h Easy Run
2h ryde
3min Easy Run
Duathlon integ weekend
After a long busride on Saturday, a whole day of downhill skiing on Sunday. Fabulous quad workouts.
A spin class on Saturday morning.
While not really part of the training log, help out on Saturday and Sunday for the Fat Cupid Classic Fat Bike Race in Wisconsin.
Hi Ray,
Last week end, we had a 15kms run with friends who were visiting us.
As always, great blog ;-)
Olivier
1h swimming on Friday.
3h Mountainbike ride.
I did a negative split run in negative temps (F) and then having family in town did a number on any other plans.
A 28k run with some marathon pace thrown in on Saturday, followed by a hilly and icy 12.5km race on Sunday.
Saturday was a recovery day, but Sunday was busy: 3hr run at lunch and a 2300m swim in the evening.
A few 30 and 45 minute runs and a few days of skiing.
Thanks, as always, for the awesome giveaway!
Did a recovery ride Sunday with some stretching afterward.
I did a 13K on Saturday (Easy) + a 27K Longrun on Sunday. Both on the treadmill. Apparently, it was the coldest place on the planet over the past weekend where I live with windchill dipping the mercury to -41.
20K of cross country skiing on both saturday and sunday. =)
First 1500m pain free swim having recovered from frozen shoulder and a shuffling 3km run as I plan getting back on track for some triathlons this summer.
18 mile long run last Sunday in 10 degree (F) weather (I’m in DC, where we’ve had a bit of a cold snap). Overall, I managed to run over 40 miles last week, with some intervals thrown in (training for the Big Sur Marathon).
10 mile run and an hour on the trainer. Oh, and it was cold!
Two climbing workouts (aka any time I ride my bike from my house) and two hikes with the family enjoying 60+ degree weather in the desert Southwest.
Neg splits on the treadmill + lift and trainer work
Three trainer sessions using Golden Cheetah, then forced onto the road in 75F+ sunny days here in SoCal.
100 miles of cycling with 5000 ft climbing
Injured. :( No training this past weekend.
I’m just starting to training again to get back into shape and this past weekend didn’t really entail any training since I was mostly walking around furniture stores in search of a new sofa(couch). On the bright side my activity tracker record that had over 9000 steps so I guess that counts.
A 18km long run in Lille’s Citadelle, north France, with 5km @ 5:29/km. Getting ready for my First marathon!!!
last weekend: 1500y in the pool, Sufferfest ISLAGIATT, and deadlift day at the gym. Good stuff.
I ran 6 miles, nice easy run.
Skiing, lifting,and a massage.
I’m running every day as I am running the Barcelona Marathon in a month. In total I am aprox doing 100km per week with a tedious 20+miles run on sunday…( oh those boring long runs, how much I hate them)
I went for a very wet and rainy ride because my turbo trainer had some issues. And for a lovely run along the river with my sister!
Saturday was a 2 hr training ride. Increasing Z4 pickups on 4 min recovery. Sun was a 90 min run with 5×4 min Z4 pickups.
I did my long ride on trainer road. I am in Week 3 of their Sweet Spot Base Low Volume 2 plan. Taking advantage of my new Kickr Snap that I purchased based on your reviews. Keep up the good work.
Since I’m nursing a sore knee – a lot of time on the Bike and Ellipitcal. I am also working on pushups, lots of em :)
2 bike rides (trainer), a swim, and stretch cords.
It was a simple recovery ride with a friend on Zwift. That platform is amazing!
i did a gym workout on saturday and on sunday i went on a 10k slow pace run
The plan was a 2h30 long run, but mother nature decided that it would not happen with temperature of -26C in the morning….
Last weekend I just went out for a short trail run workout
unfortunately I did feel a bit ill and had to go on a conference. So, just did some skiing…
I’m 16 weeks out from a marathon. Got 15km in a bit quicker than my marathon pace. Tripped over a piece of wire on home stretch and busted my knees up. Went down like a sack of spuds ! :P Could have been worse, will be back out in a few days hopefully!
Training was on Zwift along with 1000 other people waving at the whale!!
Saturday 8*3min @120%FTP on the trainer and Sunday a good rest!
I ran 11 miles in NYC – in below zero temperatures.
A nice easy 10 mile run.
I got in a 10k snowshoe in -40(!), and then my first century on Zwift.
I won my first ever dala horse at the mora vasaloppet
4 mile outdoor run in Chicago(!), some weightlifting