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.
I did an hour swim on Saturday and a 7 mile run on Sunday.
Trainer road sweet spot base plan reboot.
3 swim sessions and some fatbiking.
TrainerRoad: Matanuska & White.
Crossfit Saturday and ‘practiced Valentine’s Day’ all day Sunday!
First outdoor road bike ride in very nice sunshine!
Mtb and tacx vortex training in the winter paid off :)
2hrs of running, 1 hr of cycling
Working through a couple workouts from the zwift 6 week FTP builder.
I went for my second bike ride in almost four months after injury trouble. Cold and rainy, but I enjoyed it a lot, it feels good to be back on two wheels!
Coming back from my in-laws (bad for training and weight!), I did a one-hour session on TR on the Neo.
I was sick last weekend and I´m just feeling better today.
Treadmill all weekend!
5kms running after 1 year with leg problem. 7km/min. Slowwwwwwly.
20 miles easy on Saturday and a stability work-out on Sunday (Australian chin-ups, single leg squats and dead lifts, pike and twisted push-ups, hanging flutter kicks).
Only a long run on Sunday (22km @ 4:32min/km average)
On my training log was 1.5 hours of cycling and 6km of running. It was cold!
An hour of brutal spinning, with boatloads of sweat and a few curses to make it interesting :)
Beautiful weather down here in texas–I ran 8.2mi on Saturday and biked for 17mi on Sunday. Monday was a holiday so I had a nice outdoor run (4miles tempo surrounded by a mile warm up/cool down)
A cruisy 25 mile loop around inner Houston. Running has been on hold since running the Houston Marathon a few weeks ago and sustaining a knee injury.
I attacked some hills from my bedroom in Chicago while watching a Netflix documentary on Star Wars toys as I watched cross country skiers ski down my street. Amazing, right? Now feel bad for me and gimme that fenix hr!
40 minute leg / glutes workout followed by a 30 minute pool swim.
A few hours on the trainer and a few sessions in the pool – getting ready for my first triathlon.
Swimming in a local 50-m swimming pool: 2k+ enourmous amount of backstroke drills.
Running outdoor: 4K, it’s too cold and slippery for running more here where I am.
Cardio Boxing with MOOV wearable couching: it’s so funny, I reaaly love this type of small 10 min cardio sessions at home at the end of the day.
intervals and then another interval and to finish another interval.
My workouts consisted of shoveling several tons of dirt over the weekend (building a new house and the tractor’s clutch is gone) and playing basketball M – F during the week.
on saturday getting back from the ski, on sunday long run 20km and 2 hours bike
Training for a couple of halves this spring, so I did a long run on Sunday and starting to get some hill workouts in during the week. Thanks!
Training? It was the stop swap and save bike swap
It was SUPPOSED to be a 10-mile race… but I had to DNS because my body is hateful :(
Was supposed to do a 12 mile run Saturday and 5 miles Sunday, but unfortunately was sick for all weekend.
My first outdoor ride of 17 miles on the roads of southern Alberta. Lots of gravel but neither snow nor ice.
I’ve had a hard time keeping to my usual routine since my baby girl was born so last week I subscribed to a gym near work to go training during lunch hour. Working well so far. So one spinning class and 2 treadmill run for me ;-)
Did an easy 5k jog and a kettlebell swing program
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Two trainer bike rides and an indoor treadmill run. It was cold out!
Visiting Galveston last weekend, but did manage to ride a couple hours sat and sun.
TrainerRoad ride and a short cyclocross ride.
Snow and freezing rain cut off my training plans. Tried to bike. Turned back home after about 50 yards!
Nice 2 1/2 hr walk in finally warmer weather on Saturday and weight training with my girlfriend on Sunday before eating too much ice cream.
Trying to train properly using my Moto 360 sport for indoor and outdoor workouts.
Monday to Friday: gym, Saturday: an hour on stationary bike, Sunday: ~9km walk.
I did a 7 km beach run on Saturday and had a rest on Sunday.
Saturday was 90 minutes on TrainerRoad (Phoenix) followed by a brisk 5K brick run. Sunday and Monday were both fun sledding in the snow with the kiddos!
I ran 8 miles on Saturday with the wind chill in the single digits (Fahrenheit) and 8 miles on Sunday with the wind chill in the negative teens. Thankfully it’s warmed up since then.
The Saltburn Hardmoors half marathon with my wife. Who said romance is dead?
Saturday before lunch: Run 80 minutes @ 4:40 min/km + 20 minutes @ 4.15 min/km (22km in total)
Saturday evening: Treadmill @ 13.5 km/h 5 minutes at each incline 0-1-2-3-4-5% (30 minutes in total)
Sunday before valentines day brunch: 10×8 minutes 225-230W with 2 minutes roll, rest easy up to 2.5 hours
Last week was the last of base 2, so only 3 workout, all slowly for rest purpose (swim bike run)
Well, a lack of Valentine Day plans means more time on the bike! Did the extended route around my town/country— the little red dot that is Singapore!
4-mile tempo on Saturday and 9-mile LSD on Sunday.
How about replastering the basement walls for a log entry? Not sure what the metrics would be, though. Not your average ride in the park, I can tell you :-).
I’m following the Base Sweet Spot plan on Trainer road for now. 1.5 hours this past weekend on my newish Bushido. I’m really enjoying the upgrade to the smart trainer.
8k on Saturday (PR’d!) and 10 miler on Sunday
An FTP Bike/run set on Saturday and a fun V-Day dirt trail ride with the hubby on Sunday.
I did one 6 mile run previous Sunday, slipped on ice, busted my knee and sit through the rest of the week. This weekend was -20C, so just stayed warm inside.
Monday – 20 min run through Fraenschoek vineyards
Tuesday – 30 min run through Cape Town
Thursday – Hike up Table Mountain
Friday – 10k run to Signal Hill
I spent this weekend recovering from overtraining last week… but I did a nice 6 mile trail run yesterday :)
The flu :(
20 minutes above LT and long endurance riding preparing for a 40Ktt later this Spring.
Intervals and long slow ride
Saturday = light run + strength training, Sunday = long run in preparation for my next HM.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
Last weeks log was 67.7 miles easy spinning as I’ve just gone through another surgery and will unfortunately be off the bike for at least 2 weeks.
Martial arts training, then another martial arts training and then another martial arts training. And some two days of alpine skiing, which has almost killed my knees.
I got a nice, long training run in for the NYC Half and a pool workout as well.
I’ve picked up the running again, after my 200km Ice Skating adventure end of January. Saturday was a 12km run and Sunday I did an “early” 16km to get back into it. Still thinking about a nice goal for this spring – pretty sure it will be a running goal though!
8 miles slow run where 2 of my running partners got engaged
Tabata bike intervals followed by a short run off the bike and then a long run with a few tempo intervals.
hill sprints; blessed hill sprints
HIIT on my indoor bike, and starting up the lunchtime walks. Thanks for doing this!
Had planned to run but finally go to ski with friends which came to visit us. We got rain, snow, wind and then sun !
What’s happening!? As I begin my 2nd training regimen for Ironman things are picking up, but a long road ahead! At least this time I know exactly what to expect. I was at IM Lake Tahoe in 2014 for the Cancellation and IMFL in Panama City when they cancelled the Swim leg the same year. Not good. Looking to turn things around this year. 2016 IMLP here we come!
Saturday 2/13: Trainer ride w/buddy at his gym then Strength training
Sunday 2/14: 90 Minute Run at the reservoir near my home.
downhill skiing and 5k recovery
I did alpine skiing on Saturday, spin class and circuit training Sunday, and circuit training with weights on Sunday.
Rode 77K on the trainer Saturday morning , long run on Sunday afternoon was just 7K as I discovered that my broken toe is still broken…
I took my GF out on a 15k run, that’s pure love :)
MTB – 3 hours
A 12K Trail race that was actually 14K on Saturday, and then on Sunday I did a preview run/ride of the course of an offroad Duathlon I’m doing this coming weekend.
Thanks for the giveaway Ray!
Riding my bike everyday to support the DougReport. Rode down to San Clemente yesterday to help build up the base. Today, a little further in the plan.
Saturday 17k run, Sunday Zwift – a random island potter inconveniently interrupted by a shocking internet outage
Swimming, lots of swimming!
Ran, ran, and ran some more. Also did some strength training.
This weekend had very little workout sessions since I was traveling to visit family. However, you can count climbing over wrecked cars and providing medical assistance in a 60 car pile up I was involved in.
Saturday was a little 2 mile warm up run and then Sunday I ran the L.A. Marathon for a PR.
TrainerRoad’s Mary Austin(3 sets of 2×10 min consisting of 2-min steps up from 95% to 100% to 105% FTP and then back down again) workout on Saturday and Lyell(3.5 hours at 60-75% FTP) on Sunday
Weight training and 10km run :)
I ran an 11 miler on Saturday, followed by a slow 5k around my neighborhood on Sunday.
Indooor trainer time for me,. Sat and Sun, one hour each. movie watching while on the trainer. Cheers!
Last weekend was the end of the first week of training for my first marathon. It was a short, ‘long run’.
Swimming Fri/Sat, long brick on Sunday…
Elliptical….back spasms are a pain in the butt (or back, as it is)
Long run and then a rest day.
Due to the weather, it was all about indoor training over the weekend. Put in 2hrs on the trainer, watching the Olympic MT on Saturday. Then went to the local Y on Sunday to get in 5mi on the treadmill.
Last weekend I did a 7.5K run in preparation for an upcoming half marathon race.
60 minute TrainerRoad workouts each day. (Table Rock & Split Mountain)
Rode the bike for 215 Km, with 1 long training of 101K and 1,5 km print runs
Slow and easy winter ride from Belfast to Whiterock on the beautiful Strangford Loch. Cold temps and biting wind but quiet roads.
Ran the beautiful Auroville Half Marathon in some scenic trails on Sunday at Pondicherry, India.
Thanks for your amazing site, Ray!
I’m really trying to work on my cycling this off season so I used my new Wahoo Kicker this weekend with TrainerRoad and did the Tenaya 3.25 hour ride.
Last weekend was FTP testing on trainerroad. And I got to do it twice due to a major mechanical malfunction during the first attempt, ugh.
Nice and easy 3 mile run.
On the bike, 8×2 z5 intervals on Sat and 4 hours including 2.5 hours at z3 on Sun.