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
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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.
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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!
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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.
Tag Archives: Training
Whirlwind Weekend Wrapup
I knew going into this weekend that things were going to get interesting….and busy. But that’s all good – I like being busy.Day Before SaturdayBut my weekend really started on Friday morning… with my first technique session with the new … Read More Here
Bike, Work, Bike, Bike Again, Run, Jump
Tis the story of my day. For some reason, I rarely think through how it will all fit together – until after I do it. I just simply take one item at a time and then deal with the next … Read More Here
Milking the chocolate cow
There is no greater food than chocolate. I’ll do just about anything for chocolate. Perhaps the only thing that’s greater than chocolate itself, is some other item covered in chocolate. Like chocolate donuts, chocolate covered raisins, or chocolate lava cakes. … Read More Here
Running in the rain
The training continues on. Just under three weeks left till the first race of the year and things are coming together fairly nicely. I was somewhat worried just 3-4 short weeks ago as my knee was seemingly off in it’s … Read More Here
Fearing the swim? Fear not.
It’s been less than a year since I started swimming. My first pool swim was on April 9th, 2007. That day it took me 40 minutes to go 750 yards, or an average of 5:00/100 yards. Seriously. I think doggie … Read More Here
Weekend Wrap-up
For the first time since last fall, I was finally able to complete a full week’s worth of ‘normal’ workouts without worrying about injury – nor paying for it later with an annoyed knee. While it certainly wasn’t a super-heavy … Read More Here
70.5MPH (or 113 KMH in local speed currency)
Today, I managed to get up to 70.5 MPH on human power alone (and a little help from gravity). How you say? A combination of big French mountains and a pair of skies. What I didn’t mention recently is that … Read More Here
The people who say KNEE!
Those who follow my blog regularly may know that I managed to dink up my knee back in November. In short, after the Marine Corps Marathon I got into an overuse injury when I continued to train harder and harder … Read More Here
Voted off the island!
Ha! Awesome! I was watching tonight’s Survivor – more out of interest after my trip to Palau over the holiday break than the show itself. We had been told that the tribal council area was at a place near where … Read More Here
A drafty feeling
So as a amateur triathlete not competing in draft-legal racing I have as much use for drafting as the draft out of my rear end. Which over time is a bit of a pickle I’ve decided. See, from a training … Read More Here
Sport Tracks 2.0 Released!
Woohoo! Sport Tracks 2.0 was released earlier this week. I had been beta testing it a bit for a few months now, and it’s awesome. Here’s a quick overview of some of the new stuff. For those of you not … Read More Here
The water bottle assembly and storage system
Some ideas I manage to conjure up myself…but others are best borrowed. I was at a friends house for a party a number of weeks ago and noticed that they had dedicated a full kitchen cabinet for water bottles. It … Read More Here
Brickman
After yesterday’s brickage – I am the brickman. Well…technically these dudes down in Texas are the brickman, but I certainly feel like I could be the brickman. Yesterday’s swim, ride & run was the first time I’ve done three sports … Read More Here
Tri State Ride (aka: A Cold 55 Miles)
Today’s weather was looking much more promising than last week’s Saturday ride. The weather had peaked a bit above freezing a few times over the course of the week, melting off any snow on the pavement. And there hadn’t been … Read More Here
Any problem can be solved with a hacksaw
It’s generally an awesome day when I can solve a computer issue with a hacksaw. It’s a super-awesome day when the device still actually works after the utilization of aforementioned cutting paraphernalia. I had to use a hacksaw because some … Read More Here
A frozen slip and slide
Some things in life are more difficult in the snow. Activities such as building a house, sunbathing and gardening come to mind. Some activities are easier in the snow; such as skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. And then there is riding … Read More Here
Ten Random Tips for your Garmin Forerunner 305
I wrote up some of these a while back in a comment after a friend got her new Garmin 305 GPS late last year. But figured I’d clean them up, add a few and put them here for all the … Read More Here
Tales of the Ghetto Geko and Abominable Snowmen
Today I bring you the tale of two creatures – intertwined by a nice forty mile ride. The Ghetto Geko First, we start with a little ‘situation’ that arose a few weeks ago while kayaking in Palau. Something mighta-sorta-occurred involving … Read More Here
The State of my State
So this is my 2007 wrap-up and 2008 goals post all in one – and a few days later then the rest of the blogosphere. Cause really – ya’ll got your fill of reading the resolutions and goal posts last … Read More Here
New Garmin Forerunner 405 Announced
As ya’ll know – I love my current Garmin Forerunner 305. I’ve taken it basically everywhere (open-water swimming, running, cycling, kayaking, hiking, two workouts a day, etc..) and beaten the crap out of it since getting it early last summer. … Read More Here
Scaling the differences
Why do you do this to me Mr. Scale? Why is it that at 8:20:01 AM you report X, and then I step off and back on at 8:20:10 AM and it reports Y? Nothing has happened between those two … Read More Here
How to practice falling off your bike
In this week’s rendition of TGIF video’s I give you the dude who cycles on one leg. Well, one leg at a time anyway. And we’re not just talking about doing it locked in place on a trainer. Nope, that’s … Read More Here
Fuji Newest 3.0 Road Bike Review
(And now… I present a return to Tri/Running stuff…) I do a lot of traveling. In particular, I travel quite a bit to Seattle (where I’m originally from) for both work and leisure. The problem with travel is that it … Read More Here
The Tour de Guam
We arrived into Guam last night late enough that it was dark out. I was looking forward to getting out and exploring things in the daylight, and in particular looking forward to going for an open water swim. Daylight struck … Read More Here
Getting the short pool
Sometimes you’ve just gotta make due with what you’ve got. Some people are blessed with size…and others with the ability to use what they have (I’m talking pools here folks, don’t be gettin’ all distracted on me). Tonight was a … Read More Here
Tour de DC – Dusk Edition
I left the house around 2:30 or so this afternoon for a ride with no particular purpose. I started off by meandering through Old Town and down to the waterfront where I caught the GW trail north toward DC. I … Read More Here
Training against the log
I’m super-anal about keeping track of my workouts. I log every swim, bike & run. Along with it log stuff like time, splits and distances and occasionally HR. Meanwhile Sport Tracks will fill in stuff like temperature, humidity, course, elevations, … Read More Here
Texas Tuesday
Things are just bigger in Texas. It’s as simple as that. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. Since flying in Sunday night for a week’s worth of work stuffs, I’ve been experiencing all that the four mile radius around my … Read More Here
Reminder: Garmin GPS Rebate through end of November
If you’re looking for an excuse to spend some money and pick up another tri-gadget – here it is! I heart my Garmin Forerunner GPS. I use it for swimming, biking and running. And starting this winter I’ll use it … Read More Here
T minus 24 hours until Philly
We’re in the home stretch now. Down to just a few hours before the last meaningful race of my season (actually, that might be a lie, we’ll see). This is the one I signed up for a month ago after … Read More Here
Photographic Proof – iWon
Per Jeanne’s request, I present you with photograph ‘proof’ of the iWon race. Well, proof as far as someone taking a few photos of me. I also have a pre-race group shot, but I don’t feel comfy publishing other people’s … Read More Here
How far would you go?
A few weeks ago when I resumed my interval training I was reminded that I hate running in circles around the track. It’s about as enjoyable as running out of TP at a gas station restroom in the middle of … Read More Here
A written invitation
Funny, I got this postcard in the mail the other day from my employer (which btw is not Premera). I’m not quite sure they knew the irony of it when they sent it. “Stressed? Tired? Burned out? Try exercise.” Hmm…I’m … Read More Here
Brickervals
I’m tired. I started off the day with a 22 mile ride down to a river/park south of DC to watch some friends in a rowing (crew?) competition. It’s a bit of an interesting sport in theory. Very similar I … Read More Here
Sorry Mr. Pigeon
You know how when you were a kid you’d chase the birds around in the park – but of course you’d never catch them. I always assumed it was an impossibility to catch a bird – kinda like a cat … Read More Here