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.
A 5k run and hopefully a paddle session.
15k taper run for the round the bay run in a week!
After a day of rest I’ll be pushing for my first half century!
Working all weekend, but still squeezing in a 25K long run :)
Going to go ride my fat bike!
Running the Crescent City Classic 10k (hoping to earn an art print again) and then eating too much candy!
10k on Saturday and 26k Sunday.
Chasing the kids around and getting Easter eggs.
a run and a ride in no particular order – one of them on Sat. and one on Sun!
I have a sprint tri tomorrow and hopefully a long run on Sunday.
Long run Saturday then a quick run before Easter Mass and dinner
I will be riding an indoor trainer as part of therapy for a fractured hip AND dreaming of riding outdoors.
Today I spent some time in the pool. Saturday morning I’ll go for a long run, followed by several more miles at the mall (mother-in-law is in town). Sunday will be a much needed day of rest and recovery chocolate.
Hopefully get a good 3+ hour endurance ride in as I need to train for a 200 mile gravel epic. But also have to go to a wedding this weekend.
I plan on a nice Saturday morning long ride followed by a nice brunch!
Going hiking next 4 days to prepare for my trip to Nepal in April.
Today was skiing with the fam. I’m attempting my last long run before Boston on Monday. But with a pulled/torn hammy, we will see what I can muster.
I am going to ride up and down Gibraltar Rd 3 times
we are going skiing Saturday, as recommended to take the day and do something different, fun, and relaxing. Then back to the routine of pushing hard on the bike next week.
Still undecided on a 100k bike or 15 mile run on Saturday…perhaps I’ll just sleep in and eat chocolate!
Drinking, Cadbury eggs, and maybe a run.
Telemark skiing on Saturday, then running, maybe indoor bike on sunday.
My plan is Hill intervals on Saturday, Sunday is a 50 mile ride on the flats.
Endurance ride Saturday and maybe fit something in Sunday
Since I am running a track meet this weekend I’ll be recovering with a nice short run on Sunday and Monday with plenty of chocolate and bad food choices :).
If my cold decides to finally part, 45 minute easy run on Monday is what awaits me after a week away of the tracks.
Ride bike-run. Repeat.
38 mile ride on sat and 20 on sunday.
Long ride on Friday, swim on Saturday, chocolate eggs on Sunday!
Saturday 10 mile race
Sunday long run before marathon
Fri: Easy swim. Sat: 40 mile bike. Easter Sunday 20 mile bike and eat chocolate eggs.
I’ll be doing my second road race of the season on Saturday. Sunday I’ll do a 2 hour coffee ride followed with some chocolate rabbits!
I’m going to run a trail 10k on Saturday morning, and probably a little stretching and relaxing on Sunday.
Well, Good Friday I put in 5 hill repeats and did some other running after that.
Holy Saturday will be a run from 6 to 9 miles. I’m not sure yet if that will be on the treadmill or outside. It is supposed to rain and be kind of chilly. And with my half marathon coming up April 9, I don’t want to chance getting sick.
Easter Sunday will be a rest day.
I’m still recovering from a foot injury, so I’ll be cycling this weekend (rather than running) to play it safe.
Restart open water swimming training
Still trying to teach myself to swim so my goal is not to drown and if that holds up, get in a good ride on the tri bike.
Fri: Bike, Sat:Rest, Sun:Bike, Mon:Swim
Training plan for the Ironman Vineman kicks off, a couple of fitness tests on the bike and the run.
This weekend I hope to increase my step count to 12,000 per day. And maybe it’s time to get the bike ready for spring.
Gonna try for a distance PR on Saturday. 10 mile run. Thinking about doing a half marathon in a month and want to get an idea of if I’m up for it.
Eat less, bike more
Super excited to run a hippity hop easter trot :)
Indoor trainer ride Saturday & Sunday morning and maybe a hike with kids Saturday afternoon.
Normal long run on Sunday but might try and fit in a swim too. No long run is complete without adequate post run snacking but this weekend it has to be a dark chocolate egg (or two).
So, my training plan this weekend is a long nap after Easter egg hunting on Saturday followed by another long nap after church on Sunday.
Run 5 miles every day this long weekend.
Thanks!
With the graeat weather we are having I will be doing my own 3B Tri. 30 miles Bike followed by some Beers and grilling some Burgers.
Enjoy some casual runs around Seattle before getting back into the swing of things at home later this week.
Five mile runs tomorrow & Sunday. Hopefully not in the rain.
I’m going to attempt a relatively long run on Easter Sunday.
This weekend I plan to do a combination of zwift, some trail running and at least one ride outdoors. The sun is shining this weekend!
An easy 8 mile jog on Sat and another 15 mile on Sunday.
5k and training for a marathon in July, Sunday drive my son back to collage.
I have to work this Sunday, so I will be cycling my usual 48K commute to work and Saturday is a rest day.
6 miles and some pull ups on Saturday, 4 miles on Sunday!
Saturday – 8km cruise, Sunday – looking at another 20km. Should allow me to hit my goal mileage for the week!
Indoor ride Saturday and some early morning hockey before festive reloading.
Planning for 60km ride outside tomorrow, maybe hit up some mountain bike trails on Sunday, then Zwift ZTR races Tuesday and Thursday next week.
Monday and Wednesday are my cross training days where I do resistance training.
#Allflashnodash
Working back from an injury, so 3-5 miles each day!
My training plans for this extra long weekend:
Friday – Bootcamp.
Saturday – a rest.
Sunday – Wanderers 80K ride.
Monday – Long run.
Cheers, Dave.
50 mile bike ride tomorrow.
Running and soccer
Got a good run today (45min) with cadence pickups and then tomorrow is 90 min of tech work on the bike with left and right leg only drills. Sunday is my day off! Active recovery in the form of Cadbury eggs!
Of course eat, play, sleep. And play a bit of basketball :)
Looking forward to some lazy spring break training, whatever fits with the family activities.
Saturday will likely be low key, but Sunday will be a ~40 mile bike ride in the Philly area.
Saturday do a 50 mile ride
Sunday 50 and then do some swimming at the local pool
I just started building a base last week after signing up for my first marathon this fall! With a five-month-old at home, I’m just hoping to get out and run both days.
The first thing is to get off the couch. This weekend weather looks good and should get in at least 40 miles on the bike and also a little hike. Happy Easter!
After a springbreak backpacking trip, I’ll be riding 50 on the bike tomorrow (Saturday) and relaxing on Sunday. Happy Easter.
I’m gonna get on the bike tomorrow and long run on Sunday.
50 mile group ride (race) at tempo pace on Sunday.
We have an infant at home so that is quite a workout, but I’m hoping to get a longer run in and some time on the trainer. Although a smart trainer sure would be nice… Thanks for hosting these giveaways!
Road bike ride on Saturday, mountain bike Sunday morning.
my training plan for the weekend saturday-40 kilometer bike. sunday-2km open water swim.
Can’t ride this weekend, too busy doing chores.
Long trainer ride, long treadmill run all while watching college hockey.
New bike on Thursday, so riding that, a lot!
With the nice weather, I will be hitting the road for a 5 mile run.
Doing a Saturday ride with the group
Trying to strike the right balance between theft of my children’s Easter chocolate and P90X2 phase 2…. hmm, maybe I can eat the chocolate in a side arm balance on the med ball
Saturday is a medium 9-11 mile easy run, Sunday is a Q session of 17 miles with 14 of them at MRP. Coming off a nice 13.1 PR last weekend, this will be my first go at a more agressive MRP…wish me luck!
Training for the week.
Slope training on and tempo run of weekday, and 25 to 30km run on Weekend.
Smoothie after run: Beetroots, lemon, yogurt and 1 tablespoon of cocao powder
Does stealing kids’ Easter candies count as training?
Week 6 of my half marathon training: a 6 mile long run on Saturday, and a much-deserved rest day on Sunday.
Most likely something with snow and skies. Just came back from a cross country ski tour with sauna and all.
Greetings from northern Norway
19 mile run Saturday, my longest yet and then 9 hour drive back home from visiting family.
Long run Saturday, short run Sunday.
Long run on the treadmill and lots of chocolate.
11 mile run then an hour on the bike. Maybe throw in 3k swim? Don’t know if I have enough time due to Batman vs Superman coming out
Swim/Bike brick on Friday, Bike/Run brick on Saturday, Chocolate/Wine brick on Sunday
Lots of x-training on the MTB
Saturday will be a 12-15 mile trail run prepping for a trail half-marathon in a month.
Sunday will be a large Italian-American Easter dinner.
Is it ok to call it tapering if chocolate is the only plan?
Mi meta es completar 5 kilometros en mi 5ta salida a correr!
1 hour of stationary bike work. Get in a 10k run if the ice melts off the paths and some home reno. Along with supporting my son in his hockey game.
12 miles tomorrow – my last long run before my first half marathon in 2 weeks!
Double long run sandwich Friday/Sunday with a Saturday easy run.