Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $449, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, and plenty more! Go check out the full list 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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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.
4
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!
5
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.
10K recovery run.
Long ride with some of the family
I’ll be attempting to run… been rehabbing my knee, so we’ll see how that goes.
2 hours on the rollers (for the first time in about a year), complete with broken saddle. Figuring the bad balance and saddle crack will stop me from reaching for the bunnies mid workout!
1 hour Bike followed by a 30 minute run with strides every 5 minutes. It’s the jelly beans.
1.5 hr step up run with 3 minute surges–in the rain! Jelly beans. It’s always the %#* jelly beans!
Easter morning quick 7 mike run done!
109km Sunday morning ride devastated me – but now fully revived thanks to Easter Egg filled with chocolate buttons!
I’ll be getting a 2 hour bike ride in Z2 with 4 or 5 intervals of 7 minutes in Z4 thrown in throughout the workout. Preparing for Ironman 70.3 Raleigh! That and burning off some of the Paddy’s Lucky Loaf from Great Harvest Bread Company I ate yesterday!
A six mile run brought on by Haribo gummy bunnies.
I have an MTB race on Friday.
I’m sure it’ll do to burn off the extra calories from Passover dinner.
A 16.7K run progressively in hilly terrain. Die bunny, die.
Recovery run after a race yesterday. Plus lots of Jelly Bellys.
3 1- hour trainer sessions spread around eating Cadbury mini-eggs. I have three short sessions as my broken arm starts to swell at the 45/50 min mark.
6 km intervals run + 15km cycling and this will compensate half of the candy …
Long slow run after eating lots of homemade low carb peanut butter eggs.
As i transition into running barefoot. My exercise is to rest my calves from yesterday run… Hurrah for the bunnies though!
Completet a tour of the island Mallorca. Covering 313km in 10hrs 45min. All part of our teams training towards Trondheim-Oslo. A 540km team bike race.
Started my plan to devour a pound (two half pound cups) of Reese’s peanut butter cups on Saturday.
First, up at 5:00 to drive down, warm up, and run the 35th annual Creacent City Classic 10k (PR 40:53!), quick one mile warm down, then am easy 60 minute trainer spin the off to bed. Up Easter morning at 6:30, 30 minute recovery run followed by 2.5 hour bike with long intervals at HIM pace.
Done by 10:30 (hoping), and hoping to do it all without eating more than 500 cals so that the gluttony can commence. Those cups pack a lunch (2000 plus kcals), but damn it is going to be worth it.
Been traveling for work for the last three months and next week will be my first week home so I am planning on at least one 25 mile ride on a real bike..
My gf ate all the chocolate. 10 mile run, getting ready for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler next week.
Probably a 30m ride and ascent of Great Blue Hill, which I believe still has skiers on the slopes. No candy, but I might have a Stewart’s Key Lime Soda: 46g of sugar in a 12-oz bottle!
Intervall-training 7×1000
Baby lifting and baby buggey walking! haha! Can’t wait to start training again…I mean none baby related!
Today is my rest day, except maybe for an easy 20-minute spin. I ran 11 miles yesterday and am planning 4 tomorrow in preparation for a 10-miler next Saturday.
No candy but doing a 7-8 mile run to make room for Easter dinner.
Regrettably I’ve been put in the unenviable position of having to finish my Sister’s easter eggs as she’s emigrated – one of those burdens one has to take in one’s stride…
To try and combat the chore of cleaning up after her, I’ll be upping the road biking (especially since Spring looks like it actually might’ve arrived) this week – resting the running legs in preparation for the Paris marathon next weekend (excited!!)
Bicycle
Push the 53 hard for 40 sec/recover 20 sec for 10 min then spin easy for 5 min (4x)
Find a hill, and then charge it standing for 30 sec, coast back down. Charge it sitting for 30 seconds repeat 6 times. Take a break. Do it again, and then ride home.
The culprit…. I want to be faster, however I’ve no Issue blaming the (ONE) “REESE’S Peanut Butter Egg” for the bonus points. :D
The snow is finally gone and the roads are dry.
I will do my best to fit in a long bike ride unless the winter is returning.
Despite having slight tension in my achilles, after eating peanut M & M’s for breakfast the only thing I could do afterward is go for a wee run! Happy chocolatey Easterness everyone! :-)
With my sport fasting behind it I am like mad to t sports. Yesterday, a bosloop 8.92 km in 44.40 seconds. Of 98.9 kg in January to 81.3 kg yesterday. Tomorrow we walk off the Easter chocolates with 12.5 km at least. 80 kg is my goal. Fine new gadget for running or cycling would be perfect.
Chocolate is now a luxury in recession hit Britain but running hasn’t been taxed (yet) and a 10k race in Calne, Wiltshire, England means I can have some bread and water.
Double post, sorry.
Hopefully no candy… I’m visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico so just trying to get through a decent run at 6500 feet will be my workout.
I hiked 6 miles yesterday w a weighted pack to override the jelly beans I shoveled in my mouth. Today I’ll run 8 miles to make a dent in the candy my kids will be bringing home from my MIL’s tonight.
5mile super easy taper run as I get ready for my first ever marathon. Need to go easy as I’ve had some knee pain in the past couple of days.
20 miles on the mnt bike; tempo pace. No candy, but am having BBQ at Franklin’s here in Austin (look it up…)
15 Miles hill run. Bike 60 and swam yesterday. The bunny is untouched.
30 mile road bike ride around dc in the rain followed by 4 miles on the treadmill and one cardio abbs insanity workout! What can I say, go all out.
nice hour of swimming or some free climbing, we’ll see
Moderate run when if I ever get out of the office then some shrimp tacos.
90 minute roller training, thanks to this fabulous winter weather, grrrrr….
I prepared myself for easter a week ago, with 2 workouts.
They amounted 250Km cycling, where i spent 6500Kcal. Today, I will eat a huge easter egg with no remorse! :D
link to connect.garmin.com
link to connect.garmin.com
gentle recovery run on Monday due to the sore knee I got on Saturdays 5k park run. only 11 secs off my pub :)
Trainer Road Newcombe followed by a strength session in the garage. Really should be outdoors!
Getting back from a week of all inclusive vacation eating has forced me into an 8 mile run and a 30 mile ride today.
It would make for an interesting update on your blog. I remember an article about eating while traveling, but a week trapped with nothing but Mexican food proved to be difficult to manage. There was so little lean protein and so much carb.
Now to find half price bunnies. Of the chocolate variety, of course.
I’m swimming for 2500 meters. I love chocolate. What can I say?
gentle recovery run on Monday due to the sore knee I got on Saturdays 5k park run. only 11 secs off my pb
Dude, I’m on spring break! What’s a workout?
After stealing too much candy from my daughter’s Easter basket (stolen candy tastes ever so much better), I will take easy with a fartlek run that is more fart than lek.
3X9000 marathon pace, 6min rest between.
25 km easy run in preparation for Hamburg Marathon in three weeks…
Ride my bike for the first time outside because the weather is finally warming up! But, my trainer will be on standby just in case.
I am doing a 5 mile run, I did enjoy my Reese’s peanut butter egg!!!
1h tempo ride followed by a 1h run.
Trying to get over the home-made Easter bred.
Hour easy run
Getting blown off my bike in Kerry on the south coast of Ireland
1hr easy spinning on the trainer
We’re boiling 70 pounds of crawfish, so I’m getting a 12 miler in before all the festivities.
10k easy run in the rain
I will be doing a 30 minute beach run, and some strength exercises while there too… Using the soft terrain to my advantage to make me work harder!
90 min fast walk
Today I´ll take a nice walk/run, somewhere on the three to four hour range
Monday, Wednesday and Friday should be just aerobic exercise days, so about 1 h each on the treadmill and ergometric/exercise bike, plus 30 min on the elliptical trainer.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday should be mixed days, with about 30 min each of the above, plus 30-45 min of mixed weight-lifting and core exercises
Next Sunday will be a local 5km race…
What am I doing penance for? Besides both chocolate eggs and bars, about 42 years of eating way more than I should… I have lost about 30kg since 2009 on eating less and exercising more, after my dad got a big heart scare :(
Not much time easter lunch coming up. Road bike 30k fartleg, hard on hills.
Regrettably, I started early and had a chocolate easter egg last night! Today it’s 4 hours on the trainer (UGH) because it’s raining outside!…
2 hours biking should be enough
After all the Easter eggs I ate, should be bunny hoping around the block 10 times. However, would most likely get institutionalized for that, so most likely 10 km run will be sufficient to burn of 7 easter eggs x 100 cal’s = 700 calories.
PS great site – one of my favorites
8km tempo run
And I was going to skip today’s workout!?! I mean, the pool is closed since it’s Easter. Any way, after a real easy 9 mile run on Saturday, I’m thinking about embracing the pain of some 1/2 mile repeats. Then, I’ll be ready to go bunny hunting – no offense to The Girl.
18km long run, to compensate for all those chocolate Easter eggs, as well as to prepare for the Antwerp 10 miles in 3 weeks.
Yasso’s 800s. 15 min warm up / 10 x 800m intervals trying to keep a 3 min pace / 15 min cools down and stretch. Getting ready for my first marathon and burning some Easter eggs my 2 year old insisted I should eat with her.
8-mile easy run.
Yasso’s 800s. 15 min warm up 10 x 800m intervals trying to keep a 3 min pace 15 min cools down and stretch. Getting ready for my first marathon and burning some Easter eggs my 2 year old insisted I should eat with her.
A LONG 4 hr turbo session!
And my chocolate was the exact Lindt bunny in your pic!
Run/walk for 30′
6 months of chemotherapy and not watching what I ate during that time got me here.
I am planning to run 6 miles in Zone 2 – so I can afford the Chocolate eggs later in the day! I know, I should be eating the boiled eggs instead!
i will be doing trainer with run after + workout:
Cycling:
1h20m 10 minutes warm up. 5 * [one leg drill 30 sec]. 1 * [5 minutes V1 + 4 minutes V2 + 3 minutes V3 + 2 minutes V4 + 1 minute fast + 5 minutes easy spin]. 1 * [5 minutes V1 + 4 minutes V2 + 3 minutes V3 + 2 minutes V4 + 1 minute fast + 2 minutes V4 + 3 minutes V3 + 4 minutes V2 + 5 minutes V1+ 1 minute easy spin]. 5 minutes V2. 5 minutes V3.
Run:
15m Right after the cycling. 5 minutes on 4:15. 5 minutes on 4:00. 5 minutes easy run.
Workout:
4 * 15 lounges. 4 * 30 abdominals. 4 * 30 lower back. 4 * 15 push up’s. 4 * 15 squats. 4 * [50″ work + 20″ rest] static abdomials. 4 * 30 lower back lifts (lie on the back and lift the buttom). 4 * 20 back push ups. 4 * 15 twins (calf raise). 2 * 20 (open and close legs w/ rubber).
Just did a 10 Mile run :-)
12.km running besides the sea in the Mediterranean city of La Manga. A bit cloudy…. After that half km spinning…. Quite cold but refreshing.
Yesterday I ran an intense 15K trail race with a lot of elevation change. Part of the aid station offerings included PEEPS and robin eggs (malted milk balls), so I was required to eat some of them along the way! Great time.
Two hour easy bike today followed up with a 20 minute transition run.
Sweet sins: – 2x dark chocolate-bunnies
– 2x white chocolate-bunnies
– countless small pieces of mean easter-candy
Got burned with: – 3.2km swim in the morning
– 1h30mins easy run without heartrate info, because my t6d struggled the last weeks and
died yesterday ;)
Helping my best friend painting and decorating the baby chambers for his twin to come.
I won’t be eating candy. I plan on another run post surgery recover run of 1 mile. Slow and steady no more than 15 min.
I did a 20 mile run yesterday so that I can eat all the ham I want to today!
I have 6 kids. None of them like the black jelly beans, so….
I will probably be eating about 476 black jelly beans this morning.
Since it is Easter, I am pushing my morning run to this afternoon. An easy 10 mile run should do the trick.
I didn’t eat chocolate….but stuffed myself with Belgian Gilletes (sp?) instead! I’ll be doing 8 x 1 mile repeats then riding 30 miles along A1A in Florida!
Three hour run to burn off too many Cadbury Eggs!
6km easy run !
no chocolate…
2nd post knee surgery run.
After a relatively healthy birthday/Easter celebration last night (paleo cake shaped like a bunny)… Delicious, spongy and oh so much chocolate. Long slow day 17 mi run around Town Lake in Austin, gearing up for IM Texas!!! Happy Easter to y’all!!
Long slow run due to chocolate and carb over indulgence.
Fifty five km cycling up and down hills in the beach with some long fast runs..
8 mile run, any chocolate candies will be to blame.
30 30″ Box Jumps
1 Mile Run
30 30″ Box Jumps
1:10 recovery ride with 0:15 transition jog. Had a 10k yesterday!
Easy one mile run walk with my Border Collie puppy. Trying to slowly ramp up her miles so we can enjoy longer runs together. Later in the week back to training for my first 26.2. Can’t forget stretching and the foam roller. Justin’s Almond Butter <- Not quite Easter Candy but man that stuff is good!!!!
I’ll be avoiding my easter eggs until after an LSR of 10 miles, my last long run before the Berlin HM next week.
I won’t be candy today, but I do plan on another 1 mile post surgery recovery run.
40-50mi zone 2-3 ride Saturday
1:30 run on sunday, holding back 5-10% for first hour, ramping up through finish.
Legs are tired from saturday so I’ll need some chocolate to get through it!