Heads up! The big Garmin spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8, $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965, Forerunner 265, and countless other Garmin products. 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.
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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!
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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.
Paced my girlfriend to a new Half Marathon PB (1:52:48) and then ran another to push my ‘pace for the day’ under <5min/km. So kinda athletic ;P
Ran 7.5 miles on new trails in the central park of Tirane on Saturday, then on Sunday took my son running on those same trails
Did a short ride during my vacation in Italy and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery.
Last weekend I was in the gym twice working on my technique for my kettlebell training.
Managed to run a PR time around our local lake after having way to many beers the night before.
Long ride…
Did a 5km morning run, followed by strength training in the gym. End it off with a nice 3km swim in the evening!
The wife was out on study weekend, so household and 2 long indoor bike training sessions where on the menu last weekend
did a 100k Cycling Tour with the Roadbike to get the best ice-cream
All family did exploring with bikes in our neighbourhood.
Saturday:
5k parkrun, 30k cycle, 18k walk
Sunday:
18k walk
Went on a bike ride, after being sick for 3 weeks…. So much fun!
Hmm – dog walks and a ride with the kids…
Did some running and navigating in the local woods
Brick workout indoors, then next day first outdoor run of the year (winter still in effect here in the Canadian prairies!)
Planned for a long-run, but had to settle for a short one due to a string of unrelenting diaper emergencies #NewParent
First ride since knee operation
Went for a ride in the hills – heart rate monitor is playing up again!
I chased my two kids around. I swear they never stop running… also had the bakfiets out for a ride to our local dierentuin. We have an old Babboe bakfiets which is a beast to ride!
This weekend I played soccer game, as a preparation for running competition
Did my first brick session this year on Saturday, and my first Open Water Swim on Sunday. Hope that’s athletic enough :)
I couldn’t ride this weekend, mountainbike is in for repairs, XT calipers leaking, not ideal! However the weekend was still packed with a lot of sports,the formula 1 race in China and off course the Amstel Gold race. Now that Ray lives in NL he certainly needs to do a report on that one next year!
Greetings from Belgium!
Riding with and against the stormy wind in the hills outside of Vienna. And enjoyed a beer afterwards, of course.
Ran a 11.6 km race in Bratislava. My worst time ever, barely managed to finish in the top 100 out of 5000+ participants.
Went “swimming” with my children (4 and 2 year old).
I did my personal best in half marathon this Sunday in Poznan, Poland.
1h24m44s.
That was the adventure!!!
Went out for the first mtb ride this season – very muddy, very exhausting, but finally indoor training season seems over!
Since I live in Norway I did my first outdoor run without snow and ice on the ground! Two times 5 km fast run and a walk with the dog in the woods!
I did a quick, hard workout on the bike trainer.
I chased the kids around the yard for a while….
Had a lovely last ride in summer like condition on Saturday before heading back to Canada where we were greeting with freezing rain and snow on Sunday….
I ran 20km in a benefit run that collected money for sensitization campaigns on drinking and driving.
I did a not too fast or too long run along the canal to start of Sunday.
I was shopping for a nice pair of heels. Does it count? No? Well then I did an easy 5K before that.
My weekend was a mix of running and rock climbing. One outdoors and on indoors due to the weather.
I did a short bikeride after I was sick and it really was hard… not only was I out of form, but second there was a really strong headwind which seemed to follow me no matter which direction I took :D
hope I win this time, I am following your blog since 2011 and i really like it! nice work!
Easy parkrun on Saturday followed by racing to 4th place at our triathlon clubs twice annual aquathlon event.
a 10k race (running)
I went for ~100 km mtb ride exploring new routes for the season
Raced at the Loup with a bunch of young ones
236Km audax crossing into three countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland). Boy was it a challenge to get out of bed on the second day to go to work!
Yo Ray,
This weekend I am pacing my brother around the Southampton Half Marathon. He was a very overweight guy who has now lost 5.5 Stone (77lbs / 35kg) and has been training for a year to complete this event.
I am really proud of him and he will smash it!
Garry
Went for a test ride with the boss on her new Cruiser bike!
More upper body work, recovering from surgery SUCKS!!! This would help..
Did Budapest half marathon after doing prague the week before. I trained well for Prague but my performance on the day ways disappointing. Did Budapest for “redemption” – slow, to enjoy the scenery… not goals, just for fun. Was great.
I ran Boston – adventure barely covers it! I think I’ve just about dried out now…
Last week-end I drove my bike “dans le Bois de Vincennes”
85 km bike ride south of London, half of them with my club mates, the other half alone because these rubbish guys left me alone after a mechanical issue (I was riding the last of the pack and I did not shout, so I can take part of the blame). Anyway it was nice as it gave me the opportunity of testing the navigation capabilities of my new Edge 1030, I loved it to be honest…
A 24h run followed by a sleeping marathon!
Thanks :-)
Cycling between the fields with flowering flower bulbs..
Well, on Saturday I went to a wedding and according to my Garmin I danced 20km (about 22k steps).
Went for a swim near the beach!
enjoyed the sun on the bike. 130 km on saturday followed by a flat 80 km on sunday
I participated in the Brabantse Pijl for amateurs. First of many ‘official’ rides I will do in the coming years. :-)
Did Tour of watopia and the Three sisters course for the first time, and it was a hard ride for a heavy man like me
Did a whole bunch of push-ups.
I ran the Boston Marathon.
Run to stairs near our castle
I did some time on the trainer and a brick run
Swimming and more swimming, taking advantage of being on holiday by the seaside…. even if the water could be a bit clearer.
Preparation for the national road relays
17km run with accidental deletion of the activity on my garmin VA3 + a hurting knee. But if its not on strava it did not happen I suppose!
First long ride with my new bike and first use of power meter.
Started out on Saturday with a 80 km ride on my mountainbike to get some distance, now that we finally got some decent temperatures here in Sweden. Then a sorter trail session with my son on Sunday. Overall, a great biking weekend :)
Limped around a painful long run.
nice 8 miles in T-shirt and shorts, next day snow
Two bike rides both warm enough to have bare knees. That’s good for at least 6 extra watts.
I went for a quick run because I was too lazy to do a long run!
Managed to run my first ever Marathon this weekend at the Brighton Marathon Weekend. Despite lack of training I managed a respectable 3hr52minutes :)
This weekend was the last weekend before the London Marathon so it was the last run of any meaningful length before the big day – 14km total with 10km at marathon pace.
Did a steep hilly ride to see if my new crankset (52/36) is fine or I need to switch to 50/34… :-)
Complete 3 yoga routines and Fitness test on the Sufferfest app with my Neo.
Just a short ride… however with few climbs in the 18-20% area. Damn, still feel the pain while recalling
Ice storm cancelled the outside riding, did some Zwift laps instead.
First outdoor ride (ca 60k) and an easy 10k run in a forest.
Easy long run in the nearby park preparing for a race next week
Attempted a long ride but got caught out in freezing rain. Watched the Amstel Gold Race instead.
Long run
PB at Durban City Half Marathon (01:20:48), and with no sleep thanks to the great (not) accommodation I booked for the night. Here’s hoping for a refund on that.
Easy 10km run Saturday then a 2km UK sea swim on Sunday (brrrrr water is still a bit chilly).
Did an 80km bike ride with some friends, hills and cobblestones included offcourse!
Worked all weekend so settled for wrangling children when Home.
I worked my way through 5-level-high Indoor playground, using my kid as an excuses to climb all the way to the top!
I did some rock climbing and cycling. But most of the time I played with my new puppy :)
Not sure if you’re tracking, but we are still getting occasional snow here in the DC area (remember us?). I did get the bike off the trainer and did my pre-season overhaul, though.
Hello — I’m back on a new training programme for a 10km so this weekend I ran a hills sessions, and an easy long run.
Unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t get he “it’s Spring” memo and brought 1/2” of ice so I ventured “out” to Watopia on Zwift
I did a short recovery ride for about a hour.
Last weekend I did a 7k run while my kids where doing their 1 hour athletics training and I made it back in time to be able to watch a decent part of their training.
Clapped my hands while spectating the Bonn Half-Marathon :-)
Team training running round a forest and doing obstacles
Run… and running after children
3 weeks recovery & camping trip around S Australia
Saturday I did a recce of the bike course for my first triathlon (May 7th, very local) – Sunday my brother in law wanted to go for a ride… so I took him on a recce of the bike course for my first triathlon, along with his friend who it turns out is also doing the same, and also his first triathlon – sharing the love and getting the know the pot holes!
A 50km Gravelcross bike adventure sportive though muddy/chalky lanes in the UK.
Raspuita Challenge Bike Race!
turbo trainer !
print training plan
Training plan
Time to train:
98
minutes
Distance to train:
km
Session plan by Team Nagi
“Long turbo: (Strength session)
Warm up
– 5mins easy spin warm up
Build set (look for subtle variations in power)
– 3mins mod / 2mins easy / 3mins mod / 2mins easy
– 2mins med / 3mins / 2mins med / 3mins easy
Main set (stay seated – aim for an increase in power as RPE rises)
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 90% RPE – 2mins easy
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 95% RPE – 2mins easy
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 100% RPE -2mins easy
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 90% RPE – 2mins easy
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 95% RPE – 2mins easy
– 2min big gear (sub 60rpms) at 100% RPE -2mins easy
– Repeat all of the above: warm up/ build set / main set ( 1hr 48min session)
“
Ran an easy 4 miles, first run after 2months of no training at all. Did not suck as bad as I thought it would. Then lots of stretching and an off day. Getting back into it slowly.
Home workout
5k run in 30C in the desert. As someone who doesn’t run, 5k is an achievement. Now to settle back for a week and wait for the shin splints to settle, before I try it again next week.