Heads up! The big Garmin spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8, $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965 at $499, Forerunner 265, the new Instinct 3, and countless other Garmin products. Plus a few Suunto & Apple product deals too! Full list & thoughts here.
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.While I don't partner with many companies, there's a few that I love, and support the site. Full details!
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
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Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
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- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Elevation training in lower Himalayas.
Nothing I’m in 8th month pregnant but can’t wait to be back on the running trail. ?
Hours and hours of hill repeats followed by eating large amounts of chocolate eggs and bunnies!
2 hrs MTB-Ride on Sat and a 12-14 k run on Sun.
I went for a 1.2k swim today and 45 min run – tri training progressing nicely.
Resting, after riding overnight from London to Southend through some disgusting weather on Thursday night.
Weather is not all that conducive to training outside so bike maintenance and a few hours of Sufferfest this evening.
Just went on a nice Saturday run through downtown Chattanooga with my fiancé, couple miles. Otherwise, just enjoying a laid back Easter and some studying!
I am going to ride 98km.
But… they gave a warning for the weather because of the wind.
Stupid or awesome??? IDK!
Had a great Saturday run with My Girl, then went and killed 5 miles of power sprints today around the stadium. A little Rainy outside here but making the best of it!
25 mile bike ride on Saturday and a 6 mile run on Sunday. Plenty of jelly beans in between
12k marathon tempo run before breakfast and lots of Easter goodies afterwards throughout the Sunday :)
Knocking over 10km as it’s the first chance I will have had to run since hurting my knee in the Houston Marathon during January.
Riding 100kms around Hong Kong Disneyland before an Easter Egg hunt in Discovery Bay!
I’m looking at taking a fast(ish) 3 mile on Saturday, and really focus on building a good pace, then looking at getting in a 10 mile on Sunday! Weather permitting!
Planning on riding hours with friends.
My training plans for the weekend involved a family hike with our pup and trying out a Jazzercise class with a good friend. I hurt myself and had to take 2 week break to recuperate. Im looking forward to my 4 mile run tomorrow- hopefully, if all goes well ?
As it finally got nice in the midwest, i biked and ran outside in the beautiful sunshine!
A ride and a run.
Four training sessions per day to strengthen the knee. One week ago I did a knee surgery ( new ACL) .Every session takes about 45mim, so I will be busy.
Regads
Fredri
Swim to bike Saturday and Cadbury chocolate egg repeats Sunday. ?
This week I get to back off a little after 3 building week. Most likely a couple of 7 to 10k runs and maybe a 2-3k swim depending on how the bod feels Monday,
Swim, bike, run, swim, run, bike, swim, run, bike, run. Maybe some Zwift.
30 mile hilly bike and 8 mile interval run – then lots of easter chocolate!
2hr endurance ride followed by 1 hr run on Sat; 1.5 hr tempo run on Sunday!
This weekend was a three hour bike ride on Saturday and a 75 minute run on Sunday
Injured! So just gentle cycling :-)
Early spring like weather here in Canada. Can’t resist cycling outdoors instead of egg hunt.
Fleet Feet Half Marathon Training Program run on Saturday as a coach and a 3 hour Z2 bike ride on Sunday
Two indoor trainer sessions (4.5 hours) since we had our Spring snow storm late last week. Then boiling down some maple sap into syrup and Easter brunch with her parents, my parents and our children.
Chasing the kids on their scooters and taking the dog for a walk!
Going for a 30 mile ride and then eat some chocolate.
An annual Easter ride to Ihop. It started as an accident. We were out on a ride and hungry and ended up being an annual thing.
Long run on Saturday, Easter candy on Sunday!
Long run
Lots and lots of rest days..too many rest days.
My goal was to ride 60km on Satudarday and run 26km on Sunday. I did it :-)
Last long run, 23 miler, before Boston.
Just some short gym sessions as I travel to watch my team in the NCAA tournament.
Sufferfest Revoler on Sat and 3 Mile run on Sunday.
Going on a short run (well, short for you) to get back into the habit…
Being a running tourist in San Francisco. Hello hill climbs!
Hiking on my day off with my family!
Backpacking a 60 mile loop in Pennsylvania. Trying out my relatively new F3HR
78 on Friday and 48 on Sunday. Getting in those base milss
Easy 8 miles on Friday, Tempo run Saturday with a running buddy (7 miles), and no run planned for Sunday.
20 mile ride on Zwift Sunday morning, baby swim class Sunday afternoon, long awaited 5 mile run Sunday night.
Gentle Sunday morning bike ride
Family run Saturday, Sunday 1:30 fat bike ride on limestone.
HI Ray
Nice weather here in Ecuador I did some loops on the beach and intervals.
Xavier
I hope to go for a run on the beach.
Hill sprints to get ready for the Jefferson Cup on Sunday!
Family fun run Saturday and a 30 mile ride Sunday before lots of Easter family fun!
A few miles on both Saturday and Sunday.
Spending the day at poolside with my awesome family!
I got an Easter weekend 10 mile run in. Last long run before next weekend’s half marathon.
A long hike with the kids.
And some hills repeat.
I plan on running with my dog this weekend. That’s about it. Too much work to do sadly.
Got in a 24 mile easy bike ride Friday afternoon and then did a 21 mile bike ride with lots of hill training. Ate a few pounds of Easter dinner Sunday and watched March Madness!
Hill runs all the way!
I’ll be heading out for a run before sitting down to a marathon Easter dinner.
2 mile run easter morning – getting back into the swing of things…
Without the bunny I plannes a 3 week killer legs workouts, beggining with my iron distance program.
Saturday was the IAAF half marathon world championship in Cardiff and a steady 3 hour turbo on Sunday
11 mile run on Saturday and 2:40 ride Sunday. No data to support the ride as my Garmin died about 12 miles in.
Training/Coaching my fellow club members during ride 5 of our 12 week club training program on Saturday. Recovering with a nice 50 mile spin with friends on Sunday to the best coffee place in the area.
I had a few runs this weekend slotted between some weekend Easter travel – two easy 6 milers and an 11 miler on Sunday.
Being 24 weeks pregnant, I did some walking and playing with my on-the-go toddler between yummy Easter meals with family.
Easy run with my sister and some speed work yesterday, walk and easy jog with my wife after a long day today…getting ready for the Mile Run Trail Challenge next weekend…despite the name it’s a half marathon with over 3000 ft of elevation gain
I am going for a nice long ride up and down the so cal coast, prepping for Oceanside Half Iron next weekend!
Friday – Trainer day – 90 minutes
Saturday – Sunny and warm road ride 90 minutes
Sunday – Trainer day with my wife – 120 minutes
Monday – Short, fun MTB rides with my kids (5 yrs olds)
A fun run (10K), running in a bunny suit :D
Rid my bike :)
Training for the Famous Potato half marathon in May. Need to do a long run this weekend.
70+ miles of hills around Bloomington, Indiana (a treat for someone who lives in pancake-flat Chicago).
To much snowball here, i am not going outside.
I will send some time on the traîner again, I hope for the Last week-end
I really nice ride up north at Mangawhai here in NZ. Plus a cruisy ride on Monday to blast out the chocolate.
This weekend is over and my training was running the yard with my son to collect eggs & thats all.. felt great after.
Ride the Greenway trail, watching ducks.
Worked 12 hour shifts all weekend! Also squeezed in an hour run, some strength work, and some play time on my new-to-me tri bike
Racing on my new bike! And eating some Easter chocolat eggs.
Big distance run for this easter weekend
104 k ride in zwift and soccer practice
Run over 6 miles and swim at least 15,000 yards this week…
Long run on Saturday and deep couch sitting on Sunday.
Long run Saturday after work and work again all day Sunday.
Saturday 1500m swimming; Sunday 22km trail running
Run on Friday, run on Saturday and run on Sunday. Eat everything in site after Sunday run.
After work, 1 hour ride outside and 4 mile run on Saturday (separate, not a brick). Sunday day off (church, lunch with friends, dinner with family). 2.5-3hrs ride outside vs trainer (depends on weather) on Monday. My “weekend” is Sunday and Monday.
Do a training ride everyday. Of course eat chocolate between rides. If raining, ride my KICKR.
planning to veg out while watching march madness then hit the gym and their good ole squat rack. Thanks for your writing of the blog, get so much from this site all the time!
Ran the Coral Springs half marathon on Saturday.
Cat5 Pack finish….. yikes – I need some tech help in the training department.
Cycling
This is the week I will try a few laps in the pool as my broken wrist is healing well.
Getting tired of bicycle trainer indoors.
Run 1 hour Friday, Ride 1 hour Saturday, Sunday off and Monday Swim then run.
Race Saturday, eat Sunday.
10 mile Trial on Saturday saw bunnies hiding easter eggs.
Hr run pushing the stroller with my son
Since winter has made an unfortunate return to northern Michigan, this weekend’s training involves my KICKR and my Sufferfest videos. I’ll be doing what I can to counteract the effects of an enormous Easter dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, which I am looking forward to with an unseemly amount of anticipation.