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.
Two group rides, possibly followed by some solo miles. Trying to crack 200 miles for the first week back from being sick
It is a rest weekend for me but I’ll be back on the bike next week!
A long weekend with running, walking & biking! Hope the British weather holds up.
I’m doing whatever my physical therapist tells me to do. I’m trying to come back from a lack of mobility from the waist down associated with my leukemia that I’m battling (and beating, by the way).
Long ride Saturday with another ride on Sunday.
Should I earn the barbeque with a run and ride?
A shot bike ride or two… Too much to do!
Sunday is all about teaching my students to run slowly for a long period of time.
8-10 km run in between university stuff.
And cleaning the house… definitely a heavy workout :D
Tomorrow morning I will ride my bike in my first 100km.
….I will just need a new sportwatch to track bike and swim too
2.5 hour bike on Saturday. 1.5 hour run on Sunday.
Fri – short ride, bbq!
Sat – 50mi ride to Walden Pond, 1.2mi swim in Walden
Sun – long run
Mon – slack off
2 long rides and the lounging at the pool.
Unfortunatly have to work!! But will definately squeeze in a 5k run somewhere!!!
I’m taking a couple of weeks of rest after my track season, but I’m going to be watching the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene!
Trainer lactate tolerance reps + run threshold brick for Saturday then recovery run to work, recovery run home and a swim in a local lake on Sunday
Ran a half marathon last week and am taking it easy this week. I hope to hit the beach and enjoy some burgers!
I’ll be running a mountain marathon in the beautiful Wicklow mountains and bringing my new TomTom Runner 2 on its inaugural session!
A short tempo ride tomorrow and a longer easy ride on Sunday, either side of removing tiles from the kitchen (does that count as cross training?!)
5-6 mile walk Saturday morning followed by a 15-20 mile bike ride around town Saturday afternoon. Cook out and fish Sunday at the lake and rest up Monday.
Calisthenics on friday and then recovery on saturday with a 50 minute run on sunday
I’ll be traveling, over the weekend, so just a couple of runs for me. Hoping to get a long bike ride in on Monday, though.
Hi Ray! My training plan for the weekend is going to be a 45 mile ride from Arlington to Manassas with Ride to Recovery. R2R is a multi-day event for veterans riding adaptive bikes, and my group will be riding along to support them.
Long weekend here in the UK. Planning to catch up on some work and reading, and do some hill intervals and a 10k. (Getting back into training after a half marathon.)
Long weekend. Beautiful weather. Good times. Bucket of golf balls at a driving range then a par three to start the weekend. Sunday brings a 50 mile trek around the greater Denver Metro area and Monday will top off with a partial Golden Gate Canyon run. Indeed a good weekend! Thanks!
Trail running and hiking in Boulder then running the Bolder Boulder 10K on Memorial Day!
Recovery weekend after last weekend’s 100km Sun Mountain trail run. So probably just a few hours on the mtn bike and an hour run.
Long ride, beer, eat, sleep and repeat
It’s a long weekend in the UK too…. And sunny…..friends are coming over for a week of biking cliff top paths and recovery stops of cakes and coffee!:)
20k race in Brussels, Belgium
Bike/Run Sat & Sun
Long Run Mon
no training plan yet, probably just some cycling and kayaking, but I’ll sure spend some time calculating my odds of winning here every now and then ;)
This weekend i will try to do 10 km under an hour. After 6 months injured and one month return thats a big step!
Looking forward to a 10km run around my local mountain tomorrow and some mountain biking on Sunday.
Getting lots of road bike miles in…75 on Saturday along Lake Ontario and another 40 on Sunday.
Wedding on saturday
Maybe some running in between kids birthday parties, block party and family cookouts.
Trainer workout before catching a flight.
I will run to the track on saturday and do 6×1200 m. AT intervals pace 3:15min/km. with a 1 min. jog rest – and then running home again (well once I stop feeling dizzy from the intensity – that is).
Sunday will be a endurance run of 25 km. at an easy pace on a combo of pavement and trails.
That’s it – plus hanging out with my girlfriend and kids ;-)
I will be back from a 5 days danish trip so:
Saturday some 10k run
Sunday some bike-run-bike stuff to a great lake nearby. Maybe 1h45-2h long if I feel fresh enough :-)
Long weekend here in the too, so early morning swim followed by a run Saturday, long ride Sunday and hopefully finish off with an open water swim Sunday!
50 mile ride with 6 Strava segments planned out. Then enjoying my 6 year old’s birthday party.
Going for a long mountain bike ride, nothing helps climbing on the road bike like a 4+ hour mountain bike ride.
My workout plans involve into a new home. Training Peaks has quite a bit of red in it the last month or so…oops.
Longish (100 km) bike ride Saturday. Relatively shorter (87 km) bike ride Sunday. Monday? Yeah, prolly a bike ride.
Thanks, Ray and CT, for all y’all do to keep us on our game. Have a great weekend while you can enjoy some “you” time before Little Rainmaker comes along!
Racing half distance triathlon Nieuwkoop in The Netherlands!
My training schedule involves mowing the lawn, digging up weeds, flipping burgers on the BBQ and hopefully fitting in a long run!
Wandering around Venice with the family & father-in-law.
Getting in several rides with my family on a newly opened rail trail near my neighborhood.
Saturday – Moderate run 40min
Sunday – Endurance run 55 min
Rain or shine :)
I’m hoping to run my very first 10km race Saturday (and recover Sunday), assuming the weather cooperates (in that it is supposed to be hot (>30C) and humid. Less than ideal conditions. I’ll have to use my Vibrams because the pavement will be too hot to run barefoot. :-(
Doing a 1/2 marathon
Refereeing on Sunday, helping a friend move on Saturday!
Saturday gym then help my pookums train for the marathon.
Then BBQ the rest of time.
Nothing special this time, some short running and a lot of walking with my dogs.
I will visit the next town riding a bike 31 km (in Hungary) – while the family will goes with car.
No training this week-end but Brussel’s 20 km sunday
long ride…
Prepping myself for the Tour de Burren Sportive in Co.Clare, Ireland in June so will get 100k in over and around the Wicklow Mountains. Both locations have absolutely beautiful scenery and if the weather is good (and it rarely is) then it’s magical!
4 x 9 minutes @ 95% FTP x 9 minutes @ 50% FTP + 70 minutes run @ RPE6 + 40 minutes steady swim
Long run on Sunday and tennis, lots of tennis.
No breakfast, fat-burning 15K
A short ride with some friends (with ulterior motives), followed by a run, and then celebrating my son’s birthday.
Saturday 100km bike ride with 2hrs at sweet spot and Sunday 10km run
Friday night spent prepping fuel and bike spec, then 7 hours in the saddle from early Saturday to include 1 lap of the IMUK route and should total over 180km … Will double my longest ride so far – all on the TT bike.
Sunday will have at least a one hour recovery ride and Monday will include an open water swim – if my wife lets me (and I can walk) maybe a run Monday morning too – it’s a public holiday in the uk too ??
I will be running 8k Friday and I hope to do 8k again Sunday. I will see how my legs holds up. I have been somewhat injured. But it is nice summer here in Denmark so I love to go running.
Currently on the trainer for a 90 min set, swim and 20 km run tomorrow
Riding a century for Memorial Day, and maybe a recovery run
I will go to the gym on Saturday and run 5km on Sunday.
no plan to train at all
Out of door by 4am and back to 7am to prep breakfast for kid and wife and enjoy my other passion: espresso.
This weekend im going to do a slow, short run on saturday, and a long run around 2 big ponds (23k) on sunday. Hope the weather will be nice so I can wear shorts :)
Easy swim to shake out the legs after yesterdays long run and then 100km tt on Sunday as my final long ride before Cairns 70.3 in two weeks!
Running, driving, riding, driving, walking, driving, eating, driving, sleeping! Happy days!
Swimming and biking mostly, as well as enjoying the great weather
Long run on Saturday
2000yd swim Saturday followed by 75mile bike on Sunday – last long ride before Honu! 12 mile run on Monday. Resting otherwise!
5k parkrun tomorrow, long mtb Sunday
Long run Sat, recovery and/or shorters run Sun, Mon, back to workout run Tues (taking the day off). Will spend some of Sat doing things I’ve been meaning to do and waiting for my hubs to get home from his race. We may grill (though it’s supposed to rain) but mostly will just relax and hang out, much needed.
Attaching a grill to my bike and making some burgers while on a 50K ride. Beers will be in my cages.
Heading to Blacksburg VA to do Mountains of Misery 100 mile ride.
A race-pace 100k ride on Saturday that splits the group mercilously on the short but steep return climbs and, as if that wasn’t enough, a bushel of 3′ zone 5 intervals on Sunday. Hopefully it will stay dry.
Road-and-trail half marathon Saturday which will be more of a recreational run for me after a marathon earlier this month. Road ride Sunday up to the summit of our little mountain pass and back.
4km hill training on Saturday followed by an easy 10 km run on Sunday.
i plan on running a bunch then eating a 4×4 at in n out.
I will complete another 140k week and try to learn as much for finals next week.
A mountain run in the Swiss Alps. Go Säntis!
Going to do a short tun on Saturday and a 15K run on Sunday in the Dutch hills on the Veluwe.
7am long run with mate
I’ll be flying into Mexico and running through the mountains.
Bike riding on Saturday and some walk on Sunday but it all depends on weather, forecast says it will be raining heavily.
I’m spending the weekend going to a far-off friend’s wedding. So most of my exercise will be pressing the gas pedal in a controlled manner
Plans for this weekend are doing a cycling trip, as currently running is not a good idea, due to knee injury. I hope to recover soon.
I’m going to hike up a mountain, then go for a bike ride
I have a 6km run on saturday and sunday is a rest day.
A run with my son through monkey infested wilderness.
I’m just at the tail end of an injury. I have a 10k race on Sunday but doubtful if I’ll even do it yet. Mare!
Swimming
I’m recovering from a weeklong series of running events, culminating in a marathon last Saturday. So I’m in rest/recovery mode, and will volunteer at a local race this weekend.
A longer ride with the club saturday.
Maybe garden work sunday.