Heads up – Massive Sports Tech Holiday Deals List is Live!!! The Garmin Fenix 8 is $250 off (even the Fenix 8 Pro is $100 off!), the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on sale, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is $249, the GoPro Hero 13 Black, DJI NEO, and a ton of other brands/deals, including Wahoo, Oura, Whoop, Polar, Samsung, Google, and more than 100 sports tech deals 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.
3500k training swim and a 10k race! Plus strength training!!
Stuck inside during ice storm. 100 then 150 minutes on the trainer.
Primed for Sweetwater 50k this weekend.
2+ hours on trainer and running, prepping for a race title defense this weekend.
A LSD 12.5 miles run.
I was home with my two kids all weekend, riding out a wicked winter storm. This coming weekend is our Tri Club’s training retreat, so lots of running, biking, and swimming! :)
Ran on my treadmill because it was too hot outside
Brought my family to Disney-20000 steps a day! Not so athletic, but tiring.
Rode my bike 46 miles, over 3000 ft elevation.
Logged about 8 miles in airline aisles on a flight from Dallas to Sydney. Insomnia on a 17 hour flight is the stuff of nightmares.
I did weightlifting intervals of furniture while I was moving houses this weekend.
interval run on saterday and a MTB ride on sunday…
Rode a 81k fairly high intensity training ride that included my first road bike crash. A bit of road rash was the worst of the damage.
Trained using my punching bag to let out some steam
I visited Antwerp and walked 13-15km per day around this beautiful city.
Going to run 25km uphill downhill
took a nice solid recovery walk on the beach
you have no idea how hurtful your comment is :)
Weather finally broke on the east coast so first warm/hot ride of the year… weekend was 4 hours in the saddle, 2800 m swim and about 18 miles of running.
Ran Boston!!
This weekend I will be supporting & cheering on my running buddies who are running in the Naperville Women’s Half-Marathon on Sunday, April 22, in Naperville, IL, of course.
Used my backyard trail to get some hill training/hiking in even though I’ve been down and out with a cold. My mind was going crazy from just sitting and resting so I needed to get up and move.
Went for a long ride of 197 km and 3,000 m of elevation
Mountain running in Olesa de Montserrat (near Barcelona), hard race because of the heat
Stuck inside on the trainer due to rain that never seems to stop. Next weekend I’ll be 2000 km south biking in Utah.
A steady 30km loop in the glorious Peak District as I continue tentative steps to overcome an overuse injury of the right knee – and it didn’t even rain!
Hiked the Grand Canyon!
I ran after my dog as it chased a Highland cow following a max effort 5k!
Home renovation, at least I’ll be counting my steps :)
Great weekend with a short EZ run on Saturday followed by a 2 hour adventure in Zwift land. The a 10 mile trail run on Sunday.
Wall to wall PBs on the first road ride of the year after a gruelling winter discovering the joys of trainerroad/kickr.
10km Fun Run. No race to train for, just for fun. I need to get back to cycling too!
Catching up on TV on the stationary bike
Spent all day building doors for an outbuilding… Does that count? It was a rest weekend after my first race in a couple years.
Just a relaxing weekend with some short rides around the neighborhood.
Lol. Did my upper body workout by shoveling out form under this stupid mid April snow and ice storm!!!
Cold windy 11 miler run on Saturday with a nice springish 8 miler on Sunday. Winter of 2018 just won’t let go.
I did a 12k fast-ish run on holiday in Osaka. Cool city
Weekend saw a large ice storm here in Ontario, so I did a couple of 2 hour trainer rides and continued waiting for a sign of spring…
Longish run along the FoOrth and Clyde canal
Spring has finally hit Stockholm – so I enjoyed a nice calm job in the sun along the water!
Got on the trainer Sunday night after a day with the kiddo, and 20’, the aluminum rim exploded! The tube and tire were fine but a six inch seam opened along the brake track. That was interesting.
Ran the boston marathon!
Flew over the hood of a Ford Fusion and lived to tell the tale!
70 mile ride to top off the final portion of a long build block of training. Then, volunteered to help dig berms at the new bike park.
Rest weekend, but had a nice long hike with the dog.
Thought about going for a run in the freezing rain we got in Toronto. Decided the trainer was a better option.
Did 70k with a timetrial bike and a babystroller into engtal, where the road is still closed for cars.
5k Park run with my daughter- positive vibes and negative splits
Ran a 15.5 mile training run. Second attempt at a marathon in just over a month.
Exercise was mostly chasing around after 3 year olds at my son’s birthday party. Tapering off a little with the NJ Spartan Ultra coming up in a little over a week…
I had a wonderful day on the trails on Sunday
Just ran after my little kid.
Strenuous weekend icing my knee as I’m recovering from an overuse injury :-(
i”ll do a 15k run on friday and a 1:30hr bike ride on Saturday. Here, the weekend is Friday and Saturday….
thank you!
I did a long bike ride (50 miles) and a long run (12 run) to get me ready for my upcoming half!
260W for 15 mins
No cycling past weekend. Working in my house :-(
155km bike ride with overall elevation 3000m to the top of Cyprus or mount Olympus!
Getting caught in the wheel of somebody that overtook me during my commute to work and having a hard time keeping up while noticing his tires aren’t even that inflated and his backpack is even larger than mine.
Killer ice storm here kept me indoors last weekend. Have a 44K training run planned for next weekend though
a run through the parks
After a period of long slow runs (marathon prep), I started again with speed-work and got lost…lead to a speedy 16k in total!
A 1.5 hour long interval session on the trainer, followed by a 2 hours walk in freezing rain since it was too dangerous to commute on my bike.
Was race support for my daughter as she did a triathlon and taught adults how to ride. So unfortunately no miles myself but a very rewarding weekend.
Did a 25km trail run
over the weekend was a nice calm yoga-ish weekend.
plus the obligatory ride on sunday! :)
I went on a trail running of 10 km.
My athletic activity from last weekend was sorting out stuff and packing for the big move to…Sweden. Two weeks left. But will do some intervals on bike this week.
Raphaël
Last ski of the seaon
Coaching youth 5-6 year old flag football was pretty much it
Easy workout… No there wasn’t a workout just a ride with the MTB with my daughter in the child seat. One or 2 sets of easy sprints for the sake of “dad, go faster!”
5k run. Busy weekend with many other things. Couldn´t find time for more.
Had a great weekend away visiting relatives and enjoyed running in the countryside as a pleasant change.
I stared out the window at the rain and snow and gave serious thought to training. Then binged tv shows.
Got in a pre-snow (yay four weekends in a row…), super cold ride on the road on Saturday and had to settle for some trainer time on Sunday.
Went on the first ride on my new bike over the weekend! Indescribable feeling. The wind against the face, the thigh feeling sore cranking the bike, the nervousness of looking out for traffic, the thrill of going downhill… the best possible combo in a package. Really could not wait for my next ride.
a brick session, nice and long :)
Short 3 mile run with the family.
Slow scenic ride as I’m not training for anything specific. Enjoying a ride for the sake of it.
After dragging three kids around in the rain to watch my husband run a half marathon, none of us (except my husband), had a change of clothes for the out of town race. Everyone had to wear dry socks from the day before, the boys wore their pajama pants, the 9 year old daughter wore my workout capris, which were long enough to be pants for her, but way too big in the waist. She also wore my dry, current running shoes. We were definitely a site to see when we went out for dinner afterwards. After the drive home, I managed to still get a workout in at my local gym
I went running with some friends at home. The weather was lovely :)
10km of forest galumphing in the Eifel, and somehow managed to miss seeing the Amstel Gold in the neighbourhood.
Chest infection meant i had to do weekend sofa recovery.
Long ride in the wet.
Went for nice run in the rain
Recovery weekend with lots of walking around Times Square.
Some running with my friends enjoying the lovely weather
5k run. Couldn´t find time for more :'(
Discovered a small park couple Km from my house with a lovely muddy perimeter trail through the trees
definitely one to go back and explore again
Still can’t run because of my knee injury,but learning to get along with MTB riding instead, and it would be great to gear up for my new adventures.
I had my biggest LR workout of the cycle, 12 miles @ MP. Twelve days until a new HM PR!
Surf trip to Mexico!
Fat bike ride with rain, and snow. Plenty of wind to keep me honest.
Did a 30 km trail run.
Spent some time on the treadmill to avoid the snow….
Hell of the East 110 mile ride. It’s not very hellish.
yeah! on sunday we won first place in 4th Gdansk Marathon relay ! that was a great run !
5k race on Friday, hike on Saturday, 8 mile run on Sunday
This weekend I’ve taken part in Poznan Halfmarathon. I knew that it would not be my best, as recently I’m in a bad shape but I didn’t expect just how difficult it would be because of the heat. The temperature was 23C (in shadow) and most of the race was in open space, so the real temperature was probably closer to 30C….
Not really something to expect on early Spring in Poland…
Galashiels “sprint” triathlon