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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.
Running with my dad in a snow storm. Could not see the road or each other.
My coldest race was a 10k run at -2°C. I like the cold weather as long as it is dry.
coldest run at -12°C and a very cold RaceBike ride at – 3°C for 2 hours, that was even harder and i didn’t felt any toe anymore…
Swimming in Lake Michigan with 50ish degree water temps. Had an ice cream headache the whole time that wouldn’t go away.
My coldest run starts tomorrow, the Beast of Burden 100 miller in Lockport NY. 24+ hours in temps just above single digits (high is 19F). Brrrrrrrr.
My coldest run was a couple of winters ago. Mind you, I’m from the south, s my cold will not compare to your cold. It was still a balmy 10 degrees, though… Which around here is pretty chilly.
Running intervals at the American University track when it was about -7 C was not the most pleasant. Not realizing how cold it was, I went out wearing splits as I usually do for intervals. The headwind on the back straight was stinging the front of my thighs.
Similarly, I made the mistake of biking to and from school the other morning. It was -9 C and gusty. At speed, the wind was enough to make it feel like there was a soldering iron pressed against the bridge of my nose. My face hurt for about two hours after I got home. Dumb move.
The coldest ride this year has been in the twenty’s, last year the coldest was 14. Great living in Atlanta, able to cycle all year long.
Running a marathon in Athens, 2011. I know, Greece in the winter is not very cold but it was the coldest I had ever run until then. And I have never whined about cold eversince.
Both Cycling
Did a -5F mountain bike ride 20+ years ago. That was quite refreshing
Did a 92 mile ride on Skyline Drive temps in the Mid Teen and a 30+ mph wind. That wasn’t one of our smartest ideas. Every drop of water we had froze that day.
My last 8K run in Tuam, Ireland last week with barely 2 degrees centigrades outside was the coldest I had. During the run it was all fine but two minutes after the end I stopped feeling my hands! It was painful!
My coldest run that I remember was at -39 Celsius, last Monday ;)
We kinda have it cold around here in Canada you know.
Living in the South means my “cold” isn’t all that bad. But it means my motivation to run drops dramatically as it approaches 40F. I’m a wimp.
Coldest run was just yesterday! 7 degrees here in Connecticut. Frozen toes, fingers, and of course the lovely ice that formed on my eyebrows that turned them white. Removed the hat after running, and my head looked a NYC steam pipe!
Last year, our whole family went to australia for our holiday.We then went for a road trip from sydney to melbourne.As it was during winter, we stayed for a night at Mallacoota, victoria. Before continueing our journey to Melbourne that early morning, i did quick 5K and it was freezing cold considering im from a hot and humid country.But it was a very good experience and will be with me for the rest of my life.
The coldest ran I had was when I visited NYC last year in January and just had to run in Central Park.
It was 3 or 4*C and lots of fun.
Hope to do it again.
We we’re 3 friends riding up Sani pass (treacherous pass connecting South Africa and Lesotho – link to en.wikipedia.org) with our mountain bikes. As we got closer to the escarpment there was a sudden change in weather and temperatures plummeted.
I once went for a sprint around the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, with some sub-atomic particles I met a few nanoseconds earlier. Felt like absolute zero to me.
Some weeks ago we had these -20 C but that’s not when I went for a run. I did wait for some warmer time and went for a run while it was some -15 C. After that I had some ice on my face which my daughters thought looks vert funny: link to instagram.com
It was the first run session for a spring marathon. It was 8 degrees snow on the ground and the coach shows up in shorts! We did a 4 mile snow march versus a run. I had on every piece of run clothing i own. When we were done (4miles) it was snowing again. My coach was so cold his legs were blue.
Its 9 degree’s in Boston. I’m heading out for a run – Uhgg!
Coldest run… 2010 Securian Frozen Half Marathon. That year they shortened the course to a 10.25k because the wind chill was -28 F. It brings back memories especially today, because the race is held tomorrow and it is going to be the coldest one since (this time air temp of around 0 F, I haven’t checked the wind chill yet). I believe the race is still on at full distance as of now.
Cheers!
Well sadly in AL it doesn’t get too cold but I do remember trying to run when it was 20 degrees outside. I was training for my irate marathon and it started to snow. And if you know AL that’s like shit the city down worthy. But after 15-18 miles I was glad to be home!!
Cycle ride last winter with friends, temps down to a nice cool 30F. Jamie, always game for a laugh, hit the pedals with the intention of doing a short slide down a, not that steep of a, decline. Only trouble was the thin layer of black ice. Watching him wobble all over the place for the first 10 feet or so was hilarious, and the icing on the cake was when Jamie and bike parted company. Bike shot off one way whilst he slid on down the road for quite a distance. We all feared the worse at that point. Amazingly only a few small grazes to his elbow and knee, and a few scuff marks on the bike was the resulting damage. Annoyingly, on that particular day, we didn’t have the GoPro with us as it would have been great to have seen it all again.
I had the crazy idea to test the new ice spikes on my MTB tires. I took my bike at 7 am to go on fresh snow in the woods, following an unknown GPS route I had traced on a map and downloaded the day before. Everything was great until either I missed a turn or the map I used to design the route was no longer accurate. I ended up in deep snow, having to push the bikes between bushes and small pine trees. The spikes were great on ice or packed snow but were of no use to open a path in the woods. My feet were freezing from walking in the snow. I was so glad when I finally could catch a larger road in the woods. Finally it was a great outdoor experience.
My coldest run was this week, 20 degrees here in North Carolina.
I was out running on the beach in my speedos in December last year approx minus 7 deg c, when I got home my left knacker had gone black! As it defrosted it started to smell aweful so I made a trip to the hospital and let’s just say that when I run now I have only one slapping on the inside of my thigh.. :(
That was one cold run!! Wrap up guys or you’ll lighten up !
Coldest Run: New Years Day 5k in 2009. It was about 4 degrees and snowing. I had YakTrax on and barely managed to finish without killing myself. Hands were numb 5 minutes into the run…
I don’t remember the temp of my coldest run but it was an 11 miler and when I finished my chin and face were totally numb from the cold.
Last week at 6 am in Prague -8 and fresh snow around 15cm. Was so nice to run in it close to the river and have a chat with friend.
Coldest run had to be most recently in NYC. Weather is about 5 degrees outside but since Im training for Boston this year, I have to log the miles. Usually go inside for this weather but need those outdoor hill miles.
Gotta love it when you sweat that your head gets steamy in the cold
-5 C a few weeks ago… I hate running in cold weather.
My coldest training session this year was in the first week of January, -22degrees.
Im from Norway, mostly going cross country skiing, and going downhill with effective temperature around -26 is damn cold. Had to put an extra glove in the groin for safety reasons ;-)
hey, the coldest run was at roughly -20 celsius, 8 km long :-). at that point there was nothing wrong with the temperature, but next day i started to cough (and had a faint back pain), went to see a doctor – he said that i got a pneumonia and should rest at least for the next 2 weeks…:(
NYC run @ 6 am with 15 degree outside. Will race a 1/2 marathon this WE below freezing!
I’m in Northern California, and I headed out on a quick 2 mile run at 7am. Little did I realize it was -8 degrees. I didn’t make it far, before I started having Titanic-esk flashes. I promptly returned home to ride my stationary trainer instead.
The coldest run I can remeber took place last tuesday in ‘El Pardo’ near Madrid where I spent 55 minutes in a cold, wet and sno
The coldest run I can remember, took place last Tuesday in ‘El Pardo’ near Madrid in a 55 minutes session surrounded by wet sand and semi thorny scrub. A trail full of ups and downs with a section very exposed to the elements …. Saved my nose from freezing because it was not a very windy afternoon…
Last week, europe full of snow, pretty cold outside. I think about -8 degrees Celsius.
There’s a group of us that runs almost every Tuesday night for the past year and change. Last Tuesday it was somewhere between 15-19 degrees when we started, depending on which source of information you trust. I was overdressed, it turns out, because I overheated halfway up the first hill. We got in our regular 10 miles, those of us with mustaches laughed about having frozen snot / tears / sweat in them. We’ll do it again next week – but I think it should be a little warmer then.
I ran in a 5K at about 32 degrees.
-20°C in Germany last year. Tons of snow and tons of fun.
Running the small hills at Peterson AFB in 20 degree weather with heavy winds. Good times!
Last winter I went to the meet point like every sunday. No one was present, so I decide to run alone. I have tried to take a picture of to thermometer, but I could not press the button of my camera, -16°c was too could.
I think my coldest run it was 13f. My Saturday morning running group consists of 2 of my racing friends. We refuse to wear long pants and we refuse to let the weather stop. We have been called crazy several times in the recent weeks. We have fought several weeks of snow and ice and wind lately!! Thanks for the chance Ray and keep up the great blog!!!
I was in Paris last weekend with all the snow and went for a 20km trot at 7am through the fresh snow taking in all the sights, it was amazing, I wish I could have taken some footage, it must have been -0C, but it was great fun.
Any one of the last several runs when the windchill was dropping the temps below 0.
My daily run is always in the snow lately!
Thanks, Ray! My coldest run was probably 10 years ago when I was in high school. All of the local districts were cancelled because of windchills below -15°F but we had “optional” track practice where we did 10 quarter mile hill repeats.
Scariest. BAF AFG being missed by about 3 inches from a UAE truck going 40mph.
Coldest run was last week, 2 thermal layers and after 5km I was still cold, after 10km I barely broke the sweat… :)
Probably yesterday morning. It was 12 in the DC suburbs.
This year’s coldest run was Wednesday. 5.8 miles at -1 degree F. Honestly, it was perfectly fine except for the fact that the ground was much harder than normal. I ended up busting one of my toes. Not quite the cold weather injury you’d think of, huh?
One of the coldest runs I had ever done was not even that cold – somewhere around 20 degrees. I would have been fine, but I didn’t have full winter gloves. This was some time back in November of 2012 and I still have limited feeling on the top of my left thumb.
01.01.2000. KENYA. Mount Kenya. 5200m. The day I began understanding why equipment matters… I wasn’t prepared. I thought, a trek in Africa? A pair of shorts and my Timberland 4×4 will do. Fast forward 2 days. I’m in a tent, shivering. My eyebrows are frozen, my hair is frozen, my cheeks burn. I’m not gonna make it. The guides lent me trousers, gloves, fleeces, jackets. I was still frozen. 200m from the top, I just couldn’t walk anymore. Had to come done…
Now, I’m the guy with all the gear whether to run, swim, bike, ski or surf…
Coldest run for me was this week at about 6°F(-14°C) with a windchill down to about -5°F (-20°C). Other than in the headwind I think I overdressed and was actually a bit overheated from running. In the headwind, my lower half was a bit chilly.
Coldest swim was around 60°F (15°C) water in late September. Wearing a wet suit but still a little chilly, ended up coughing for quite a bit after swimming in that temp!
I knew that the ride was cold, not when I could no longer feel my fingers or toes, but when I could taste ice crystals forming in my drinks bottle!!
Rode 4 hrs in conditions that kept changing from below freezing to just above freezing made every corner a gamble.
This winter record: -27C run in the morning by 15.12.2012 around Rybinsk, Russia. Was a good test of my mountain ski thermo wear plus Ronhill winter running pack of the gear. I felt very well except for first two kilometers when my hands were frozen cold!
if i talk only about running, then around -12C in February 2012… it was a cold, sunny day, albeit we had no snow. So it was possible to run with proper gear. Only problem were feet, as i used normal running shoes… and after 12km they were getting a bit cold.
My coldest run had to be around November, 1995 in Newport, RI. There was snow everywhere and the temperature must have been close to freezing. We had to run the mile and a half test. It was my most uncomfortable run ever. I felt that I had razor blades in my lungs. It was also my slowest time for that test.
Gee, let’s see… this shouldn’t be too hard. I live in Maine and it was -11 degrees Fahrenheit when I got up yesterday morning to go for a run. With the windchill it felt like 30 below! Not fun!
Ever heard of Chicago’s “snowmageddon?” Winter of 2011 and Chicago got one of its worse snowstorms in history and I thought it would be a good idea to go for a run before the storm hit. About 6 miles into it, I noticed that snow was about 2.5′ high and that I may be Ina little trouble. Trying my best to sprint back home in windchilled -15 degrees, I got to my front door, icicles from my nose, and frost accumulating at my eye lids, I found a 6 foot snow drift at the front door of my condo. After I dug my way through that, it took me another 10 minutes to open the door cause my hands were frozen solid!!! Needless to day, I should’ve taken that day off. The bath and warm glass of Irish coffee definitely helped!! Check out the pictures from that day and Lake Shore Drive being closed!! Intense!!!
Last night track workouts in 28f with 8 mph winds….rough.
I ran 9 miles on Monday in 9 degree temps (with wind chills). It’s been in the negative degrees the past few days and I have been a bit of a pansy lately!
Here in Brasília, Brazil it’s never cold, so you can run the whole year throgh.
It seems this must be the year of the cold run. For one reason or another, ok likely for 2 reasons, those 2 being 6 month old twins, most of my runs these days are either before they get up, or after they are asleep. These days that means dark, and cold.
Spotted the ’09 Boston jacket in your self portrait. Nice!
My last cold run (1 week ago) was a long distance run (2h5min) with -11 c and windy, but I have run in below -20 before….
Cold is relative. I live in Singapore where daytime temps rarely fall below 30C/86F. Christmas 2011 I visited my in-laws an hour outside Winnipeg, MB,Canada. To over come the feasting and excesses of the season, I ran every day I could. The first day, I overdressed for -5 C and sweated for an hour, the next I under-dressed for -11 but felt OK. After a couple of days I thought I had it down, and felt pretty good on most runs. After a week my wife’s Dad asked me to take the dog with me. I hurried to get dressed and go, so the dog could do its business. After some preamble with the dog I set out on a 12km run. After 3km I felt pretty cold, and my nether regions were colder than usual, by 6 I had worked out that I had forgotten to put shorts on under my tights, and things were definitely frosty. I had a spare pair of gloves, so shoved them down my tights at the turnaround and managed to get home without things falling off. I checked the temp as I came in: -14 C. Definitely coldest run, and lesson learned – check the temps and put shorts on before every run.
swimming in a 6 degrees lake, last winter.
Now that was COLD!!!
Running 01/01/13 in the wind and rain because I had to start the year off right! THANKS
Moderately chilly was a run last week here on the South Coast of the UK… but my coldest exercise activity has to be swimming in the Southern Atlantic ocean, a few miles off the antarctic peninsula, between icebergs… dry suit – obviously, chilly – definitely, the most stunning thing I’ve done – absolutely…
My coldest was was last week, -6. Can’t wait for spring…brrrrr
Tough Mudder in Ohio, April of last year. 40* at 9AM, first obstacle was jumping into an ice bath, then had to run 13 mi. after that…
I live in Michigan- every run, bike, swim between October and April is cold!! I did a triathlon in NY in October, air temp was 50ish, water temp wasn’t much higher – brrrrr
The coldest I’ve run in was about 4 or 5 degrees F. I was wearing a Timex Ironman watch and I guess the battery was on its last legs because the cold caused it to die completely.
a year ago riding my MTB in the freezing winter and snowy weather my front suspension oil got frozen and riding it back to the beginning of the trail (20km) was pretty painful in many ways.
Let me tell me say that wife and me were happy we had already 2 healthy kiddo’s :-)
I did an afternoon run last weekend and the temp was low 30’s and very windy. I was dressed for it, so the run as actually very nice. Two days later it was back into the mid 60’s and sunny!! Gotta Love the South.
Snowshoe race a few years ago. Cold at the start but warmed up quick since running with snowshoes strapped to your feet is heck of a lot of work.
My run might not be the coldest, but my eyes always gets watery in really cold and windy conditions. On a morning run before school, I ended up with a shattered eye lid after the run. Didn’t notice the tear while running, but the eye sure didn’t feel good once I came back home. The run felt amazing though. No one else was outside running, so I was getting a head start on the world.
If I didn’t run with any opposition or in tough conditions I’d be weak. Challenges builds character.
Given that I live in FL, my “cold” runs are probably not considered cold to anyone else :) I’d say my coldest run happened a few weeks ago (since I’m a fairly new runner) when it was cold and raining…wasn’t my ideal run or my best run but I got it done! :)
One time here in Florida I had to ride when it was 50 out lololol. It was rough!
Earlier this week! felt like -15 deg C, 2 hats, 2 gloves, 2 layers of running tops and i still felt cold!
My coldest run, I remember that one. It was around -14 °C (6 °F) in the very east side of Germany, and, well, it was cold. It took a couple of breaths on my run for the the vapor to condense in my eyelashes and… freeze! suddenly closing my eyes! Of course, I rubbed them and continue running: and now I’m here to tell… :)
My coldest workout; skiing in Haltdalen (Norway) in -27 C degrees…..
When running, it’s not the cold that I’m worried about it’s the wind chills.
I’m a wus about the cold – so my coldest ride was in my basement on the spin bike. bbrrrr 55 degrees ;)
I remember running winter days at -10 degrees Celsius. When you are in shape and want, no bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.
Ran a couple of times in fresh snow .. When you look back you see only your footprints.. Also you automatically turn into a snowman when you run against the wind blowing all the snow against you
One of my many runs during winter where I live. Cold (-15C) and windy make the runs freezing.
As a northern girl (South Dakota), I’ve had many cold runs. Or I should say, that was before I fell in love with running and I avoided many cold runs. I’ve since moved to FL and my definition of cold runs have changed dramatically. Now when it’s 45 I bundle up in a ridiculous amount of layers. My coldest run however was probably my first half marathon. At 55* it wasn’t truly cold. However it rained the entire time and I was ill- informed on proper gear and wore cotton sweats and a cotton long sleeved Tshirt. My poor attire choices made what could have been a rainy run into a very cold run that took me an entire day to warm up after.
I ran through the night in the Susitna 100 in Alaska in February. It was the first and last time I ran in my down jacket!!
I don’t run at cold, -20C is some limit. No special memories – whether the brains have been in ice or I think they are just normal runs.
Some years ago I had some shifting problems with the gears on my mtb because of the cables freezing.
So I took the bicycle indoor. It worked but was a bad decision…
For back out in the cold I had to stop at red light going down a hill after ~5km – and then the brake cables was frozen as well …
Can’t remember how cold it was, but cold enough to freeze the brake cables solid in just 5km …
Last year I did my coldest triathlon. Start time 6:30am, water temperature was about 14 degree celsius. after swimming I had major problems to get the feeling in my toes back. in transition zone I was not able to dress my socks. so I throw the socks back to the transition back. not a good idea :-( cycling shoes and cold toes with numbness is not a good combination. I tried the whole ride to revitalize my toes, without success. I was bending my toes for more then a hour. finally, when I start running – a breeze of feeling was coming back. new symptom – my feet has gone to sleep, brrrrrggghhh. the run was terrible but I finished it with a great time and I was happy to see the finish line and a warm pair of socks in dry shoes :-) triathlon competitors are tough guys.
I skipped my evening run yesterday. It’s been -10C in Berlin and with a 10h car ride today, I couldn’t be bothered. But on Sunday I’ll definitely go. The forecast is -16C ;-)
My coldest training was in the north of Sweden. Skiing in -25c. Going downhill in 45km/h was pure pain. But more painful was going uphill in the lift. The wind were blowing quite hard and when I was waiting in the lift all I was longing for was a hot coco. :)
Actually it was just las night! We’ve been hit hard in the Northeast! -38C with the windchill. Running is faster than a car that won’t start! :P
I live in the Montreal (PQ, Canada) area and the winters are often “cold”. I remember once i was running along the St-Lawrence, the wind was strong and iand one of my contact lens froze!!! another time, i had to take a “nature break” for a #2… And no… It didn’t freeze instantly but i made it fast!
Training for a marathon doing 18 mile run in sleet and 0 degrees on isolated country roads. Couldn’t feel below my chest for over 2 hours but did it.
My coldest run so far has been in the 40’s and not to bad! Usually if it’s cold in the morning, I’ll just wait til it warms up and run laster.
My coldest run was -5 degrees during a winter interval exercise. With a steady wind blowing the feeling temputure was -15 or even lower .. :S