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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.
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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 2023 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.
Florida January 08 for collegiate swim training camp. It was in the 40s there at the time…and we were swimming outside! We kept having to get out and go inside to warm up…and you learned to swim with as much of your body underwater as possible! Brrrr
what i learned running in wisconsin: it’s not cold when your eyelashes freeze. it’s still not cold when your sweat freezes. you know it’s cold when your snot freezes.
Although I have lived in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, my coldest bike ride took place in sunny California. At the end of a hard day of cycling, I decided to sleep on the beach. Bad move . . . I woke up wet and freezing and had to cycle down Highway 1 predawn in an effort to get warm. Ah memories . . .
Several years ago I went out for long run. As I returned, I walked up the steps to my front door. I grabbed the door handle and caught a glimpse of myself in the window. I opened the door and yelled at my daughter to bring me my camera. I had two sweatcicles hanging down from my head band. They were about 3 inches in length and perfectly positioned to look like ear rings.
Well mine was 2 days ago, it was -25oC feels like -40oC in Montreal. The inside track was close for some reason at McGill during Wenesday evening, so i decided to go outside instead. The trees were cracking as I was running on Mont-Royal, the path was empty, I was pretty much alone. I wanted to go out for 10k well I only lasted 5k. My warm dinner and shower were really welcome!
Two memories:
1. 5 mile run with windchill of 1. Ran with a cotton stocking cap and it froze to my hair. The hat wouldn’t come off until it thawed.
2. Polar Bear plunge. We had to use chain saws to cut through 5 inches of ice so we had something to run into. Rule was, no wetsuits, just typical swinsuits.
It gets pretty cold in Edmonton, Alberta. I don’t half mind cycling in it since I tend to be on the warm side, -20C is pretty common but its the wind that bites hard so complete coverage is a must. I generally scope out my commute route when driving home the night before but that doesn’t help when the paths get drifted with snow over the course of the day… the commute home is tough and with the wind at my face its like its trying to beat me into submission!
My first marathon they lined us up and it took 30 minutes before they finally started the race. It was cold and I was in shorts and a tshirt in anticipation of running hard. I wasn’t sure I would be able to start running I was so cold.
Coldest run I did I wrapped a scarf around my face for extra wind protection. When I came home it was frozen in place on my head.
It was probably Monday was my coldest run. It was 2 here in PA with wind chill, and the wind gust were around 20mph. I ran pretty fast, probably because I was freezing.
Running in Anchorage. It was the coldest place I’ve ever been by a longshot. I stopped into the local running store to stock up on layers. The locals were wearing half as many layers as I was.
Trail running (“fell running”) in the English Lake District!
My coldest run happened just one week ago. It was snowing so hard by the time I finished one lap my tracks wouldn’t even be visible any more. On the track where I’m never alone there wasn’t an other soul.
But I did like it. It made me proud to know I planned to go run and I did it.
Great feeling: me fighting Nature!
Thomas
While not necessarily the coldest temperature I’ve ever run in, I did manage to give myself hypothermia a few weeks ago. I was at a “fat ass” night run, and after 8 hours of running in 24F (with windchill, more like 14F) temps, I was in rough shape. But I managed to get in 39 miles before quitting, so I’ll call that a successful training run!
Living in Iceland it is very unusual to get below -10°C so I don´t remember any really cold run. The coldest you get is when you bike at -2°C to -0°C when its windy and raining and you are all wet in the first 30 minutes of a 3 hour ride. That is quite common and really a challenge.
Coldest run….-7 with a -15 degree windchill last weekend in Minneapolis. I am training for my first Boston marathon and I am trying to figure out how to get all the long runs in with this cold weather!!
My friend holds a 5k (informal) for our running club on the first Sunday of the year and the coldest year was 9 below. But here’s what makes it so bitterly cold…it’s a unique 5k where everyone that registers has to give their fastest 5k time of the previous year. Then the start roster is set so the slowest runner starts first. Each runner starts on a reverse clock based on the difference of their 5k times. Example: If 3 runners had times of 30min, 25min, and 20min, respectively…then the first runner to start is the 30min. runner. The 2nd runner, who had the 25min. time would leave 5min after the first runner. The 3rd would leave 10min after the 1st runner. Here’s where it gets cold…the faster the runner, the longer the wait in 9 below! So we have to spend a much longer time standing around (or running around) and just waiting to start! Even this year’s race, which was 20 degrees, caused my feet to freeze before I ever started running…making it a bit miserable for the first mile. By the way, this style of race is an absolute blast. Cheers!
Living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, it’s cold. A lot. “Summer” morning runs top out at about 10* C, and your usual winter run is around -10* C. Temperatures of -40*C aren’t unheard of, but I don’t bother running outdoors if it’s less than -10. I’m a wuss, and I’ll suffer the treadmill for those days! Not to mention the gross accumulation of snow and ice!
Coldest run this year was a balmy 18*F in Minnesota. But now I’m back in California where I can complain that its 50 :)
Ran 9 miles Wednesday. The temperature was 13 degrees, wind chill was 1. First 10 minutes was freezing, but felt warm for the rest of the workout.
I went running yesterday and it was -2, (I know not as cold as it is elsewhere in Europe or the US), but I went running on a route that I don’t normally run and I ended up getting slightly lost and I didn’t know how far I’d run or how long I was running as I don’t have any kind of running watch (as I don’t really have the money for one, mortgage repayment come first unfortunately) and I ended up having to walk/hobble back home in the rain/sleet//fog with a sore calf. By looking at Google Maps today, I think I ran about 15-20k and it took a total of 3.30 hours :-(
I live in northern Alberta, Canada…just last week I ran in -28C! It was dark too as we only get about 7 hours of day light in the winter. My HR monitor doens’t last long in that temperature. Thank god for yak-trax!!!!
Although I usually try to go out in the warmest part of the day when it gets that cold, I remember one night when I went out bundled in all the layers that I had… made it 2.5miles and then had to call it quits, it was brutal! or i need warmer clothes!
Coldest run was just recently. My truck thermometer read a balmy 0 degrees. As my snot-coated balaclava froze to my face after stopping for a traffic light I had to remind myself that I was out there running because I COULD and there are so many people who wish they could run and CAN’T. That thought not only pushed me to keep going that night, but then to get back out the next day, and the next…..
My coldest mtn bike ride was in suburban Chicago along the I&M Canal a few years back, probably 7 deg F, but bright beautiful blue, sunny sky….those are the coldest days.
What felt like my coldest run was when I went for an 8 miler in blowing sideways Northern California rain. Which turned into blowing sideways hail. Ouch, and brrrrrr!
Haven’t been on any of these lately, but I’ve been out a number of times here in Norther Illinois and come back with some pretty gross sweat-icicles hanging from my winter hat, one behind each ear. Mmmmmmmmm.
My husband is, we’ll just use the word, “dedicated” and decided a couple of weeks ago that it was not raining too hard to do a 20 mile run around the lake. So, it rained on us for the first 12 miles of this run. Then when the rain stopped the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the wind picked up across the lake. Being soaking wet from the rain, and how cold the wind was when we got to the turnaround point, he decided that the other half of the lake may not be as bad. So, our 20 mile run in the cold and wind turned into a 21 mile run, which of course to make matters worse, I tripped at the very end and fell.
Oh, and the amazing part is that we were not the only “dedicated” people there, we counted over 30 other “dedicated” runners/bikers out on the lake that day. My husband won the bet, I thought there would only be 20 other “dedicated” individuals.
Since I’m from NC, we aren’t used to cold but training through the winter is the worst. Preparing for a run in the snow today!
Running here in ATL GA while it was in the upper 20s and sleeting…burr. Pretty cold for this Miami FL girl!
Running outdoors in January here in Minnesota, the coldest (so far) that I’ve managed to run is around 10*F. The coldest that I’ve ridden is around 25*F — sometimes with flurries or light freezing rain!
Back when I lived in DC, during Snowmageddon, it was in the mid teens and wonderfully white. Not as bad as others, but amazing nonetheless.
My coldest run was a few years ago. -20C with an additional -10C windchill and I had to do my long run….2 hrs later I couldn’t feel my manly bits…damn wind
I ran a 12 mile long run a few weekends ago when we had a cold snap in Las Vegas. The temp was 29F, which is not so cold for many people, I realize this after growing up in the north, however you get used to new climates quickly and so 30 feels like 10 used to feel. Anyway it was a long slow run which took just over 2 hours and I was under-dressed for it. The last few miles were after the sun went down.
This was the last check run before a marathon. The air was cold on my lungs. I think the cold run depressed my immune system because the flu set in that night or the next day. I had to scratch for the weekend’s marathon.
Coldest was actually a got-soaked-bike-ride in the rain-turned-to-snow with my hubby. He was convinced that if we slowed down we would warm up because of “less wind chill”. I don’t think my fingers have thawed out yet and that was a couple of years ago.. . ;-)
Went speed skating for a couple of miles, ice was too thin at one point, I fell in. Had to cycle home and boy was I cold. I think I shivered for the rest of the day.
My coldest run was yesterday. It was about 5 degrees and the wind was biting. I was the only one on the usually busy tail at 6am. Not even the deer were out in their usual places.
I used to live in Steamboat Colorado. One particularly bitter week I decided I just had to get outside and run. It was -25F and I was in long johns, sweatpants, two base layers & a full size down jacket. I had to run with studded shoes because of the ice and still had some falls. And of course this was all after work so it was dark and I had a headlamp which fell into a snowbank on one of my spills!
Running last weekend when it was 24 F but the wind was blowing gusts of 25 mph!
Coldest run – wet, windy, cold, not that cold 0 celcius but throw in the driving wind and rain and it would have frozen the balls off a brass monkey.
The run I’ve just done. After being hit by a car on my new Tri bike back in November this was my first run back after working through a load of shoulder and ankle rehab. The weather today was miserable at around 2degree above freezing, drizzling with rain and a bit windy. BUT I FRICKIN LOVED IT!!! Getting back into some training was the plan so whatever the weather was going to throw at me didn’t matter! It’s all about the training!! Maybe a FRGarmin910XT could be just the thing to help me further……? Have a great weekend of training and resting guys
Jogging in Toronto, Oct 2012, pretty cold for a Brazilian guy.
A mountain bike in the beautiful Fontainebleau forest, where it is a rare evenement.
3 of us ridding beautiful imaculate snow, looking for animal signs. Poetic !
Coldest run was up Mueller Park Canyon in Bountiful, Utah, on vacation a month ago. Screws in the bottoms of my Newtons couldn’t get much of a grip through the fresh snow, and it was a mess – lots of feet and hands off the trail buried in deep snow.
A couple of weeks ago I went for a mountain bike in the Jerusalem hills after some light snow.
That was cool (and cold)!
I decided to grow a beard over the holidays (my kids are calling this month Beard-uary in homage to Movember, which they thing is funny.) Anyway, this morning it was 7F in Connecticut at 5:30am, so cold that my eyes were tearing up to prevent from freezing I assume, and the tears were freezing into icicles on my beard. I looked like a possessed viking when I got home, which my kids also thought was funny.
Coldest run…it was actually yesterday (1/24/13). It was 8 degrees in rural central Illinois (weather.com said 13, but my phone said 8) and a wind chill of -2. I usually don’t run outside unless it’s 20 degrees and winds under 15MPH, but I had to get a run in. Planned 4, called it quits at 3. Brutal.
I’m sure I wouldn’t win if it were for actual coldest run since I’m blessed to live somewhere relatively warm. But I think my coldest run was California International Marathon a couple of years ago … 27 degrees at the start and it never really warmed up … my feet were frozen before I started and never ever thawed in that run … no fun running when you can’t really feel your feet (except for some pain!).
Thanks for running the giveaway!
–Reina
I am in the same city as Rainmaker’s hometown, but live in a high place where it’s always colder and more windy. A few days ago I believe the temperature was about -5 or -6 degree celsius (about 23F). I ran pretty fast since it’s cold, so I felt okay everywhere except my nose, hands, and the other important part. Two hours after going back home, I was still trying to warm up that and felt quite painful — it didn’t respond and felt numb. Next day I put my underwear on, then my running shorts, then my running pants. Ha, now it’s better! :)
Here in Brazil the winters aren’t that cold. I believe my coldest run was a race at about 2ºC… The last time it snowed in my city was more than a decade before I was born, so nothing much remarkable about my cold runs to report :/
aaahhh….early december 2011…coming home from work at 11.30 pm i got out my runningshoes for a midnight run. In the crispy new snow with a temp of -8 degrees celsius. a truly remeberable run, but also very chilly.
Low 20’s a couple of years ago via moonlight. After the first slip and almost fall, stayed on the same mile loop for the next 7. See to feel better in the cold than the warm/hot, that is for sure.
40F did a tri and forgot my wetsuit. Froze on the swim, then feet and hands went numb on the bike and ran with numb feet for the first 3 miles of the run. I’m from texas so i clearly do not own any cold weather gear and just suffered through the race.
My coldest was a 15km run last weekend in -32C with 20-30km/h winds. I was glad to have wind-proof EVERYTHING, because with only my eyes exposed I still got a little bit of frost bite on my eyelids/brows.
A run in the Pyrenees last December was very cold. Without snow but freezing wind
Love mountain biking in the cold. Hard and fast trails make for a great ride. The coldest I’ve done is about 10F. Cold! But worth it… If you have the right gear.
My coldest run was when I was training for Ironman 70.3 Oceanside 2012. It was 19 Degrees F and I had some regular running gloves. When I got on the run it was pretty bad on the hands and when I finally got done, my hands were frozen in the half-clenched position. Took me 15 minutes to be able to finally use them again. That one hurt.
Lost my glove on day 1 of a 2 days snowshoeing trip last winter. I kept my hand in the pocket of my jacket as much as I could, but it is really hard to navigate powder without using two poles. Still have all my fingers!!!
Running in Chamonix without checking the weather forecast. The socks I chose to wear were not suitable for the ensuing snowstorm.
11 miles, about 25 degrees, frozen shot blocks and some nasty head wind. That’s all I remember.
Coldest outdoor memory I have is actually went I was a little girl scout marching in the day air thanksgiving day parade in NY. I for some reason got so cold and couldn’t stop shivering that they set me in the ambulance with hot cocoa and emergency blankets. not a bad trade off!!
I don’t run as often as I should in the cold- I resort to the treadmill – not as much fun!! I need to get my butt off the trainer too… I dont get mixed up with the elements in the winter as much as I’d like to!!
Just this week was my coldest run, Wednesday morning at 5:45 (before sunrise) it was -4 deg F. Ran 2 miles a little after 6 and when I returned I noticed it was now down to -9 deg F! Now that’s friggin cold enough for me. I always forget it’s usually coldest right BEFORE sunrise…
Long run a few weeks back, right around freezing, and lots of icy cold rain had my gloves so soaked I had to borrow someone’s car heater to thaw my hands enough just to be able to get my key out of my jacket pocket, let alone get in my car and start it.
I tend to stay inside when it is colder than 10-15, but I’m normally fine in shorts down to about 20. I ran the Indianapolis Monumental Half a few years back. Can’t remember if I just underdressed, but my hands and feet were in tremendous pain at the end. Definitely the most miserable weather-related run I’ve ever had.
My first half marathon in 2010- it was 30 degrees in Modesto, CA but there was head wind blowing the whole time so with wind chill felt to me like in the teens! Then I went to San Francisco 2 weeks later. Had a nice 4-mile run from hotel to Embarcadero and the half marathon weather felt warm compared to the short SF run!
I don’t know about temperature, but the coldest feeling was a collegiate bike race between the University of Wyoming and Colorado State back in the 80s. Still referred to as the ice race locally, there was about 4 inches of wet snow and temp was right around freezing. By the middle of the first lap everyone was riding single speeds with no brakes. Fortunately no one got hurt.
New Year’s Day Resolution ride was pretty miserable. Cold, raining, and windy
Bike ride last weekend. Temps were in the upper 20s when I started, but the winds were gusting around 25 mph. Fun times.
On Monday I ran 10 miles, about 10F. Went out along a canal road and the wind from the river below made my face freeze, and I came home with crystals growing out from my balaclava.
Wearing my cold weather running gear whilst clearing the snow off the drive and path last weekend….kept me nice and warm :-)
I live in Houston, so I am limited to how cold it gets..28F is probably the coldest for me.
Swim – It’s AZ, so we swim outside year round. Last week, it got down to 25 degrees. The pool was more like 84, but that run to and from the locker room builds character.
Last year, running the Orcas Island 25K and the snow and ice on top of Mt Constitution was a great run. I always run in defeet Woolie Boolies now, awesome socks.
My longest & coldest run was during the Tor des Géants in Italian Alps last September. About 85 hours in the race, at 8000ft asl in a snow storm, all alone for 4 hours between two refuges. Marvellous thoughts about my own place on earth; my running habits and my environment and mountains. Loved it.
While the last couple of days have been pretty cold in DC, but back in ’09 I ran a 10k after snow the day before. They had cleared the streets fairly well, but the slush at all the intersections was terrible, at the start I think it was about 18F by the finish I think it had warmed up to about 24F, but the slush was so bad you were wet and frigid by the finish that I thought my toes were going to fall off.
My coldest swim was from a dock on a small lake to the next dock over. It was not more than 50 yards, but their was ice in the water and I was blue. Oh the things you do when your betting with friends. ( I did win $20)
Coldest ride for sure was on MTB here in WV, everything was frozen derailleurs, brakes, and I cannot feel my toes, definitely bad ride. However when I was in Italy the feeling of cold was different, maybe bc where I was it’s definitely more humid, and the frozen moisture is much worst that dry cold!!
First time running in zero degree weather… not fun!
Running during Snowmageddon a few years ago up in DC when it seemed like the whole city shut down. It wasnt super cold, but nice and quiet on the W&OD trail. It was so peaceful!
12 degrees, in the snow on 12/26/12 in Colorado. Something extremely peaceful about running an easy 6 in fresh powder on the trails near my house.
My first mountain bike ride on a freezing UK winter day. Sure it doesn’t get ‘that’ cold in the UK, but I’m from sunny Queensland in Australia and I wasn’t very well acclimatised at that point, nor did I really dress appropriately (just a t-shirt despite 0 degrees temperature). I even had some other riders comment as they rode past that I was either brave or stupid. Stupid was the correct answer!
Not a runner so a bike story –
Moab Skinny Tire Festival 2007, day 2 – it was 17 degrees F at ride time! Thought for a half second about not riding – but we were there and it was time to go. Put on every single layer of weather gear and felt (and looked) like the sta-puft mashmallow man, but narrowly avoided freezing to death. Eventually it warmed up to almost freezing!
I know it’s too cold to be running when the snot freezes around my nose. :)
I love the cold. So it’s hard for me to remember a “coldest” in a bad way. My first ever Duathlon was in Red Lodge, Montana where I ran 8 miles in the snow and biked in the snow which turned to rain which turned to wind during the 40 mile leg: See picture. I was on a backpacking trip once where it got below zero over night in the mountains and when I woke up in the morning I couldn’t put my boots on because they were frozen solid…that was cold!
Coldest, most memorable run was December 2011, Dallas Whiterock Marathon. First marathon and the first time I ran over 3 hours in completely soaked shoes. I had never had my feet hurt so bad and after all that I tripped on the curb in the parking lot 10 feet from my car. Ran 26.2 miles through Dallas, soaked, but uninjured and I can’t walk through a parking lot.
This week was pretty darn cold in DC (coldest in about 6 years) and I got out in the pre-dawn to temps around 12F, with a wind chill below that, and 1.5 inches of snow. I was warmed up about 2 miles into the run and honestly wasn’t all that bad. Now if it were windier, it could have been much worse. Hope Paris is treating you well!
One morning, the pool heater was broke, wow was that cold without a wetsuit!
Coldest, most memorable run was December 2011, Dallas Whiterock Marathon. First marathon and the first time I ran over 3 hours in completely soaked shoes. I had never had my feet hurt so bad and after all that I tripped on the curb in the parking lot 10 feet from my car.
Cycling near Frankfurt in -10 for 2 hours over a big hill. When I got to the bottom and the sweat on my snood had turned to ice, I tried to take a drink… the water in my bottle was frozen solid!! :(
Any of a number of runs where my eyelashes have frozen together. Really enjoying my first “winter” in California after leaving the Northeast!
Cycling. 35F. Unforecasted rain. Just jersey and shorts. 5,000 foot descent. Hypothermia. Was not a good day.
Well, as I’m not running for that long. I was running last weekend. Bad thing was I wasn’t totally fit, so got thick afterwards.
My coldest run was only that because I was unprepared. No tights, a thin outer layer, and no gloves. I was very happy to be back in the heated car after a few miles.
Ran along the lakeshore path in Chicago the through the month of February in 1997. The wind chill was so bad I would come home with snot-cicles after nearly every run.
I nice thing about running in the cold is that it warms you up pretty fast. My coldest run was last week here in Boise, ID. It was about 10 F, but sunny.
January in Indiana is always the coldest month, running on the monon trail in Indianapolis last year on New Year’s Day, a buddy and I decided we could handle the cold and wanted to get outside. We hardly made it a mile and headed back…total wusses!
Living in the south I cannot really complain too much about the temperatures. I went for a long run last winter while training for a marathon and it was about 25 degrees I think…the water I had left out at my water stops was frozen. It was a fun experience
A school-boy 5k cross-country race in Perthshire, Scotland, back in the early 90s. Well below freezing, at least 1 foot of snow already on the ground, with the biting Scottish wind making it worse. They stopped the race with half the runners still out on the course – who then of course still had to make their way a mile back to the start/finish. Of course, the Cupid Undie Run in DC back in 2011 was pretty chilly too!
How about swimming in an outdoor pool when there’s ice on deck? Or when the heater broke at the pool…but I was already there, so tried to do my swim anyway? Thanks for the giveaway! :)
This morning.
Ran the trash out to the curb.
Barefoot. 11 F.