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I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
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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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
12 km run home following a 12 hour shift in a hospital emergency department after eating two Caramel Koalas during my shift
My training will be 15km run for the first time in my life….so the tasty Easter Bunny icecream I ate today will fuel me in finishing the 15 km run..:)
Happy Easter everyone!
Pyramid workout, 1×400, 1×800, 1x 1000, 1×1600 with warm up and cool down
Did visit the chocolate pusher yesterday so I have lined up a 3.5h brick session today to compensate.
2600 meter swim
3 mile easy
Reese’s eggs are the best
Hitting the pool tomorrow morning at the uni, smashing 2k crawl-non-stop!
Went for MTB ride today, after the ride some random girl came over to me and offered me some of her GIANT, dinosaur egg size Easter chocolate. She claimed that it was Belgium chocolate.
easter hunt done. easter eggs eaten. 2h30 run needed to clean it ;)
Going out for my longest run ever, injury free to get ready for my first 1/2……8 miles before Church this a.m…and looking forward to some Peanut Butter eggs!!! Yay!!!
There may or may not have been a few extra mini reecies consumed. Regardless there is an 8 mile long run in my future this morning! Happy Easter!
4x1mile repeates
Today only 3,5 km. Still recovering after knee surgery.
Just a recovery run after yesterday’s progressive long run, just 5 weeks until Salzburg Marathon
In Portugal tradition demands a big family reunion for the Sunday lunch. Roated lamb is the main course, followed by lots of deserts. I’ll need at least a marathon to burn all, but I’ll only go for a 20 km run ;)
Happy easter for all
I’ll be doing 5x 10 minutes running with a 2 minute walking break. Still recuperating from an injury…
14 k, zone 2, chocolate bunny burning run!
After a month of very little post a good Olympic distance tri and reading posts on this competition I am feeling inspired to hit a good 40km hard ride up and down the local banana hills and trails. Will probably hit a frozen choc coated banana or two at the end!
I’ll be paddling on the surfboard on a flat lake.
After the 56Km, b2b runs, today 5Km walking:-)
Happy Easter!
I have a really taff week coming ahead in my job so I’m already preparing my self for it.
Training will continue in two weeks ;-(
First outdoor ride of the season (finally!) to fight off the Reese’s peanut butter eggs.
Sadly, Easter chocolate will be postponed for a bit as I’m off to a 10k race this morning here in Quebec, Canada. It’s -2C outside so my chocolate will be consumed drinked after the race. Thanks for the new giveaway!
I’m hoping to takemy son to the playground later and use part of the play scape for my workout.
24K easy marathon training!
Training for the Women’s Nike 1/2 Marathon in DC — April 28 (it’s my second 1/2). Schedule calls for 4 miles today. Also training for the Mountain Goat run in Syracuse … Training run yesterday – 6 miles …oh those hills were tough to conquer which reminded why not to eat those most delicious Cadbury creme eggs!!!
hmmm chocolateee, vanilaa chocolatee, vanilaa ice cream is good after a long cross country ride. 40k ride to catch the easter bunny in the jungle. and eat some more vanilaa chocolatee.
Rode the tri bike for the first time this season yesterday for 2 hours.
3 miles of trail running and followed by 2 hours on trainer. Though I haven’t eaten too much chocolate. :D
Workout: 8 mile easy run tomorrow morning with strides after.
Culprit: Jellybeans and Reese’s Reester Bunny
ok, here’s the deal. Don’t eat the bunny!! That’s the best way to overcome the fear and anxiety. As for me, a quick 3 mile easy run before I do my last serious workout tomorrow before my half marathon next weekend (make sense?).
I’m going to do some insanity work at home
Definatly some chocolate and Maple sirup to burn.
5 min warm up, followed by a 10 km quite fast, and the 10 minutes cool down.
and no chocolate for these week ;-)
Having had generous helpings of my mom’s delicious chocolate+orange Easter cake, I’d be heading to the swimming pool for at least 1 km of backstroke (can’t do any other discipline after my accident)
Well, because tomorrow is also holiday and the weatherforcast promiss that the Sun will shine, i will take a 100 km + ride on my bike.
Ray…. I’ll be starting with a ½ Trail marathon tomorrow, then on Saturday I will run 60k trail from the South of the Danish Isle – Bornholm to the North of the Island, in af race from Lighthouse to Lighthouse.
3 weeks after I will return to Bornholm and run a 50 mile Trail ultra with approx. 2600hm – followed by a 2 day 50k orienteering run with a buddy… So I NEED some new gear to play with.
Thanks for an excellent blog.
I will be doing an easy 3 mi run after moving my long 8 mi run up to yesterday so I could better enjoy Easter. No chocolate for me but I might eat a Peep or two, I apparently am the only family member that likes them so I take one for the team.
Plan is 1.5h on the road bike with about 30min of hill repeats, back for coffee and a little bit of 85% dark chocolate that’s left over :-)
10K easy breezy run with the Misfits.
For eating a chocolate bunny (who was smiling by the way) I will do a 2 mile walk then strength training with stretching and foam rolling. Happy Easter!!
Sucker for Cadbury Eggs.
I’ll be doing strength and speed, with 400m intervals, interspersed with burpees and pullups during the recovery intervals. Half an hour to 45 minutes.
Sadly, with the daughter away at college, the Easter bunny will not be visiting us this year. I will, however, be doing a 5 mile back country road loop to see how all of the critters are doing this fine Easter morning.
Suffering indoors with Blender.
Peanut butter eggs are my weakness…
A 20 miler in preparation for the New Jersey Marathon on May 5th.
No running for the next few weeks as I broke a toe on the Tuesday, so for the start of this week a cross training session in the pool for an hour is in order.
Suffering indoors with Blender.
Peanut butter eggs are my weakness.
Just strapping my shoes on to knock out a 14mi trail run.
Hill runs!
Very easy run, almost no chocolate consumed!
three hours spinning by watching the „De ronde van Vlaanderen”
Recovery run after nice ten miler yesterday. Half marathon next Sunday
Easter! Time to eat Cadbury eggs till I’m sick! Then 6 miles easy tomorrow as a recovery..
It still feels like winter here in Belfast, but it’ll be an Easter Monday start to my cycling season, so it even more than Easter fat I’ll be trying to burn off!!
30 minutes cross trainer is on the schedule for today.
After 3 month training of every day I will do 12 km easy run in forest ;) happy ester
– 90K bike (3 x 30min. BT) + 1h steady run.
followed by
– 2 chocolate eggs
followed by
– the ears of the Chocolate bunny (The same 200g as Ray’s)
Was supposed to be an easy 1-hour ride in the hills, but after an aerobar mechanical failure cut yesterday’s long ride down to 15 miles, I’m going to see if I can squeeze in 3 hours plus a transition run before coming home to see what the Easter bunny delivered.
12 mile run for me today – then a big Easter lunch
30mile bike
12 mile run…
After 3 month training of every day I will do 12 km easy run in forest. happy ester
Just a easy bike ride today. Still recovering from yesterday’s 15K trail run
Just finished my cholocate bunny and today’s workout is gonna be 2 hours of cross-country skiing
10k easy run was today and strenght training tomorrow, before the swim on Tuesday. Happy Easter to all!
Easy 80km ride followed by 9km tempo run. Plus eating, lots and lots of eating!
1h-run + 2h walk should do it.
Reeses PB Eggs!! So much better than the regular ones!
I ran 16 miles on trails yesterday and I am following it with 10 more today.
66 miles on the road bike…
5 AM 1300 meter speed swim with 6 x 75 m sprints as main set!
60 mins. on the bike trainer, then 45 min run on this beautiful Easter morning!
Going for 10km cross country run in snow, hills and (I hope) frozen lake.
Nice easy one hour spin on Monday then on Tuesday I have a lactate threshold test scheduled (hoping for 300 watts)
Currently watching tour of Flanders on tele while enjoying some chocolate eggs, this evening da slow rum over 6,5 km
Ughhh … I’m working and then painting the house. So, I guess that is some lame weight lifting like event.
10 mile tempo run at the Cherry Blossom race next weekend.
Fortunately (or sadly, depending on my mood) the closest thing to chocolate in the house are Builder’s Bars and protein powder.
Sunday is my rest day, but tomorrow it’ll be back at the gym for twenty minutes on the elliptical, twenty on the step machine, twenty on yet another kind of elliptical, a five mile run on the treadmill, and, later, four or five miles of walking (or, depending on how ambitious I feel, running) the dog.
To be honest I prefer lift days to cardio days, I guess I’m a bodybuilder at heart, but, eh, both are important, so that’s what my Mondays and Fridays are for.
I have an easy pace 12 mile run this morning. My diet today will consist almost entirely of ham and black jelly beans.
I´ve had the shin splints for some while, could hardly run. Rested and didnt run for a couple of months, and started on a easy running program. Since christmas i have now run almost 200 km without any pain, and im now gonna run of som calories from the easter eating.
Will make a off-road trip from Jerusalem to Dead Sea on my bike.. ;-))
I’m actually going to start training tomorrow, now that weather is hopefully breaking in Boston!!!
Training for the Boston Marathon, a 16 miler at 7:50 ish pace, followed by 3-5 minutes of standing waist deep in the 43 degree Fahrenheit Atlantic Ocean. By the way, Cadbury Mini Eggs are the culprit!!
Not eat the candy in the first place, avoiding the issue, then riding to work (45 miles) tomorrow.
55 minutes run
2 hour long run!
I have kids a na my wife and I have been “sampling” the candy for the past few days. Sunday’s workout is a 2 hr. trainer ride with 6×6 min at Z4-5a builds with 4×30 sec. spin up’s. That should get rid of anything remaining (Ham dinner included). Happy Easter!!
10 mile Sunday Run – 20 min warm up; 2×15:00 @ 6:00 pace, 5:00 recovery after each; 10 min cool down
7 miles on the trails at Great Falls, VA (your hometown).
1 hour bike. 15 minute run.
Burning off brunch!
Had 6 on the calendar but going for 10 instead!
15k this morning, should give me peace of mind for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is another day of chocolate eating :-)
Easy recovery day, walk to stretch the legs and hopefully burn off a few chocolate eggs.
I have been consuming a range of Easter eggs with my son Alex. He won the competition to eat a packet of mini eggs the quickest so I have a 10k run to do to burn off the 800 or so calories I ate. :)
20 weeks pregnant, prior to which I lost nearly 50lbs taking up running :) will make attempts at completing a 6 mile run to combat the effects of sweet tarts, sour patch kids, jelly beans, and star bursts (all of which I ate last night while filling hundreds of eggs for the egg hunt!) and then there’s the bunny…. The yummy, solid chocolate bunny…..eyeing me down as we speak….. RIP mr bunny, RIP :)
Well, I actually managed to steer clear of the easter candy – so far. And as it’s still snowing over here, I had no bad conscience cutting my easter sunday workout short to an easy 5-miler. It’ll be recovering on the couch the rest of the sunday…
Back on the trainer to work off the hot cross buns.
8km run followed by 45min cycling. The main reason are two chocolat bunnies, twenty chocolat eggs and probably some other sweet things I don’t have a name for.
18 mile run on Friday for the last long run before Boston, then a 20 mile bike on Sunday.
Then, cant wait to have all the best Easter candy. Nerd Jelly beans, swedish fish jelly beans, and sour patch kid jelly beans.
Yeah, they are all that good
It’s still cold in Croatia so this week is my choice elliptical trainer, but next week will be interval running or bike
Going to run to my mothers house (12 miler descending miles 3-6, 8-11) then shower up and eat, eat, eat! I also ride 50 miles yesterday – first day on the road, yea spring. Happy Easter!
60km easy ride planned for today, my feet will get a hot bath (5 degrees C atm here in Amsterdam). Burn: all this bread I consumed with peanutbutter / applesyrup
Did a 90 minute run this weekend, aiming for 100 next Sunday