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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.
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.
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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.
Unfortunately this time of year is impossible to swim in open water, not because of cold, but because the sea is very dangerous. As i live near the coast i prefer swimming in the sea, But until now i only have trained in the pool.
My best workout came last weekend in San Diego – best place to train in the winter. In a brutal 55F (low), a group of us trained for racewalking and did our first 3Km racewalk (USATF sanctioned). Tough training conditions given the weather … :-)
Just yesterday did a 30km ride in 10F.
Christmas Eve, around 17F…Cycled about 5 miles from my house up to some trails, ran for about an hour, then cycled back.
With the Polar Vortex going on here in the Midwest, my workouts have been strictly limited to trainer rides indoors. But to answer the question, one time the thermostat in our house was turned down to 65 degrees while I did an hour long sufferfest video ride. it was CRAZY.
-5C MTB in snow and ice. Denmark , jan 21
Road riding in the UK at 4 degrees in the middle of a hailstorm. Ouch
A nice 10 miler in fog around 35F degrees.
I ran from the house to the car when it was +6F, about two weeks ago. But my chilliest ride so far this winter has been at 38F, and I only lasted 45 minutes. Oh, and it was windy.
As a coach for Team in Training, I led a training run for the Rock and Roll full/half marathon during the “polar vortex.” It was 10 degrees with a wind chill around zero. Brrr. Go Team!
Running in -26C/-15F. Thought my hands were going to fall off…
Brussels, a quick 5 K loop in 6º Celcius drizzle, ugh!!
Well, hasn’t really been too cold here in the UK, but lots of water and windchill have combined to make it pretty unpleasant on occasion. Did 120km road ride this morning, went down a flooded road in the first five kms and spent the remainder of the ride with numb feet…..joy!
7 degree run in ny last week
-15 run, 30 mph winds
I sprinted after the city bus during the polar vortex in Ohio when the temp was -12 F with a wind chill to -25 F. Happy to say I caught it! Other than that I have been utilizing the treadmill a lot this winter, as I am a cold weather wuss :)
Began a new job on Monday, January 6th. King of Prussia, PA is only a hour and half from home tree, but I was to spend the entire week at the new office. Tuesday, January 7th was 6 degrees with a 8 mph wind. I began to run at 5 AM with not my cold weather gear and a headlamp.
After three loops around the make shift course, items of my anatomy began to tingle. Two more laps allowed the tingle to change to a firm burn. The head phones froze into my ears. Some Grit earned!
Hoping that the ground hog sees nothing in the AM!
Be well across the pond. Thanks for all of the posts
Mike
Just last week in Chicago in -25 degree windchill. Two layers of Under Armour that may have canceled eachother out.
Not too bad for me so far – my coldest run was 30F
Living in Austin, TX, I don’t get many opportunities to train in very cold temps. But on Jan. 23rd an “arctic front” rolled in and temps plummeted. Unfortunately I had to get in a 10 mile run. Due to extraneous circumstances, I wound up getting my run in after work. So not only did I run in 10 degree temps, but the wind was ferocious and sleet was coming down. It was pretty epic!
Mild weather here in British Columbia. Just a few runs below freezing. Not like when I lived in Alberta and regularly ran at -30 C.
An icy run at -10 degrees F windchill in Chicago. Any colder than that and… just no.
Being in San Diego the coldest run I’ve had recently was about 60 F!
A zero spot on Celsius run a few days ago! I know I checked it, when I got home as it felt colder.
Portland, OR
Regular bike loop. 35 with a strong wind gust that made it feel much colder. Of course it was raining this the northwest.
Six hours ago, at 3 C, a short trail run for 9-10 km during a windy afternoon, … without gloves …
Turkey Day 5k. It was 20 degrees and windy and lightly snowing. Even though it was miserable I ran my fastest 5k in 26 minutes!,
Doing group run in central park ny during 20 below, wind at 18 mph and it was snowing. And I forgot to wear my gloves.
Not too cold in SEA this year, one brief snap in the 20’s. Used toe warmers, two pair of socks, and sandwich bags along with shoe covers to keep the feet warm. Worked well, now the hands – another story…
the local pool’s heat pump was broekn so I did the swim at around 78
Long ride in New York City one February. Scheduled ride = 2 hours, actual ride = about 20 min, followed by 3 hours of complaining that my fingers and toes wouldn’t warm up…
A Chriatmas day run in 20 degree weather. Needed the quiet after the morning hullabaloo.
I saw what people wrote before me. There are much colder runs, there are much longer runs, there are much wetter runs. But hey, as a summer loving person i’m glad i’m running. It’s winter!
About 15oC on a trainer indoors.
3C when I left home for my ride this morning, very wet overnight with plenty of surface water to produce a chilling spray behind. 40 miles later and a nice how cuppa awaited me.
I did a 32K in Vancouver, Canada on the rainiest day of the year… and survived without any blisters. Fortunately, on race day, it was sunny and warm.
Did a Tough Mudder in Utah a couple years ago in Late October. It was unseasonably cold with wind and snow flurries early. Wading through ice baths and mud bogs in that kind of weather is what made it interesting.
Last Sunday! I’m a military guy in northern Japan and we get a ton of snow. Last weekend it warmed up and the roads actually melted off when the sun came out. The wind was howling but I had to get off my trainer. When I left for a ride is was 38 degrees out, but less than an hour later it dropped to 27 degrees and started snowing heavily and the roads covered over. I made it home without crashing too many times and spent the next two hours cleaning my ride.
Did A bike ride last October, went down cling mans dome in Gatlinburg, TN, with a foot of snow beside us and it was 17 degrees! Went on to do 50 miles that day, and 100 over the next two! Crazy, but AWESOME!
Five mile run in 15 degree weather and blinding snow!
I’m not a hero, as I ride on my home trainer during the winter months…
Coldest this winter was 28 F at Hains point with a 20 MPH wind.
Treadmill run +15C / XC ski – 14C
My coldest run this year was last week. It was around 50 degrees: those are the perks of living in Miami :-).
Coldest run this winter was today. Zero Celcius. Easy 12k with Striders. Overcast with mild breeze.
12 F bike ride. Philly
I read the lips of a driver at a red light. The passenger said to the driver. Look at this freaking maniac.
I looked like a scuba diver on my bike:-)
December 1 2013. Donner Lake, CA swim 41 degrees, 50 meters distance. New PR for latest day of the year swim in Donner lake. No wetsuit- took about 3 hrs to warm back up. Go ‘hawks! Thank you for a great blog.
Had a pretty cold run in a place called Bardufass, Norway couple years ago. -25 degrees celsius.
I did 800m run/200m walk intervals during the polar vortex. -25c in Ottawa. Was colder during the run portions than the walk portions. Managed 4x of these before I decided I could HTFU another time.
My coldest run was -13 with a -33 windchill just a couple weeks ago. That’s coldest in five years of running! Crazy.
Well… today was my town’s local fun run. 12km in 43 degree C heat. Probably the hottest run I’ve done. They even had the local fire brigade set up ‘water curtains’ on the course to try and keep everyone cool.
Now the coldest run wasn’t really that cold. Probably 10 degrees C outside. But 3km from the end it started hailing so hard that it hurt. It was cold at the time, but when I got back to work I finally realised that running the rain isn’t that bad (at least once it’s over).
Well, the perks of living in Florida include lows of about 40 degrees during the day. (And I rocked a half-marathon with that startingn temperature!). Makes up for the summer, at least.
It’s not actually cold here in California and I kind of miss something that resembles Winter. Right now I’m sporting capris and doing a little rain dance. My coldest run was 1.5 miles at 6am in 26F. I had a fun time watching my dog discover ice for the first time.
I ran out in 8 degrees when I got back from work this week. The cold wasn’t the worst part though. The snow was killer!
Ran 5 miles with my wife in 10F temp. Got home and ran an additional 2 miles with my 7 yr old daughter. As we were finishing she said “Why are stopping, I’m finally warmed up”.
I don’t know which one was the coldest, but since I’ve been in Hawaii for 11 years and it was in the low 20s where I am now for about 10 days recently they all felt really cold to me.
I trail ran in the snow (15 degrees)with my dog. Thanks for everything you do Ray!
Today was the coldest I’ve ridden this year, 32 or so at the start, not too bad. But it had been misting overnight and spots were icy. We had to walk our bikes over a frozen bridge and a friend slipped hard and landed flat on his back. All ok tho.
Started out in sunshine, no breeze and about 55F–ideal running weather. Long run…about 4.5 miles out and then back. Was doing a slow long run…trying to keep the heart rate under 135, which means a pace about 3 minutes/mile slower. Of course, at the turn around point, the clouds roll, the wind picks up, and temps drop. I decided to keep to the slow pace despite the change in weather. By the time I finished the back of the hands were so cold, it hurt like a burn to wash my hands in cold water!
I live in Ottawa and run on the frozen canal along side the skaters.
Thanks
In early December, I did a 12 mile run-around in DC. It was awesome seeing the sun rise over the national mall. You really get a different look at the monuments without hoards of people toating cameras–not to mention it was lightly snowing
20F a few weeks ago, it was the first run since our home was hit by the tornado that went through Washington IL… its was a surreal experience
10 degrees last week. Loved all 8 miles of it!
Since the beginning of December, we haven’t had a Sunday long run warmer than -30 celcius (including the Windchill). But the coldest was -45 celcius for 75minutes! BRRRRRR. Welcome to Winterpeg (Winnipeg, Canada).
I would say just last week…a run in the freezy Northern VA temps. Our toilet line was frozen for awhile……cold.
17 degrees for NYRR Fred Lebow half marathon in Central Park. Great first “long run” of the year.
A pleasant little 8 mile run in Michigan with an actual temperature -8* and a wind chill of -35*. I was fine until my eyelashes froze shut. Come on spring!
Moved from North Carolina to Pennsylvania…all my Winter runs have been cold!
50K in 40 MPH winds on top of a mountain, frozen streams, frozen mtn bike ruts. 25 degrees felt like 10 for most of the day.
Cold weather… Yeah it was 5 degrees in Michigan but that didn’t stop me for going on a run in the ice rink in by brother back yard. Chasing our little kids round and round and round…
Here in Philly, my cold limit is mountain biking in the teens (f) which we did in December.
Coldest recent ride would have to be a short hills ride in December. Avg temp 26C, max 30C. Shorts and T-shirt. Not particularly remarkable. Today’s ride, avg 41C, max 44C – only rode for an hour. I’m not a complete fool.
Coldest this year has been the low 20’s mainly because of the new treadmill we got. Ray, you left DC too early. We had temps in the low 50s today. I was really happy to be back outside. Thanks for the giveaway.
Atlanta doesn’t get too cold but I did have a nice 10 mile run last weekend with a starting temp of about 14*F.
Coldest run was Janruary 1st 2014! Ran a 5k in a frigid temp of -39c with the windchill! They were even shutting down flights in Manitoba Canada due to such cold weather! Didnt stop me :) just need to dress for it!!!
A small 6k run at -20c near montreal made me understand why they make isolated underwears!
Coldest ride this season was a morning bike commute in the low teens. With windchill and the fact that its all downhill… it was cold.
Definitely was IM Lake Tahoe!
Cold 4 mile run 15F in Chicago
Been staying inside, Minnesota has started off super cold!
Coldest this year in the Ozarks is 6 degrees with a windchill of -12 or so.
Maybe not the coldest of the year so far but pretty close, did a “Winter Triathlon” today in -24C weather, 4km Skate, 7.5km XC Ski and finally a 5km run. First time trying an event like this, was quite an experience!
Coldest so far was last week. I went on a snow run in Goshen, Indiana. It was just a quick 4 miler, the temps were between 15º and 20ºF, though with windchill I think it was about 0ºF.
I run in Luna sandals and our subdivision is irregularly plowed, so I got to stride through 3 to 6 inches of snow or on car-packed ice and snow. My toes were so numb by the end.
Yesterday I finally got the Polarfeet fleece tabi socks. I am so grateful for them!
About 10 F — but have been stuck inside on the treadmill because of the smog we’ve had all winter.
Nothing really exciting or heroic. No swimming, but runs and Cycling at 16C.
Its not the temperature that is the bother around here, but the humidity causes the cold to really get under your skin in a way it shouldn’t at those temperatures.
September 22nd 2013 – Ironman Lake Tahoe… Should I say more?
The weather was perfect leading into race day. My kids were swimming in the lake (no wetsuits) and it was in the 70s. Was looking promising. And then the day before the race a storm came in with tons of rain and snow in the higher peaks (some on the actual IM course). The rain/snow stopped at midnight and left freezing temperatures.
Morning of the race it was 27F outside when we started the swim. The lake, which was low 60s actually felt nice. And then the nightmare began…Getting out of the water it was 30F. Being wet in this temperature wasn’t all that great. I was shivering with no control over my body at T1 try to find and then wear all my frozen layers for the bike. T1 took me 25 minutes!!!!! normally take me 5…It was impossible to get warm on the bike it was so cold. High for the day was about 50F, every time i got relatively warm going uphill there was a freezing downhill to follow…It was miserable. I don’t think it requires mentioning that plan A for this race went down the drain and it was just survival from that moment on. At various times along the first lap on the bike i told myself I’m gonna stop by our condo (was on the bike course) and just get in the warm shower and F^&K this race. But I kept on.
My most bottom layer was tri singlet. During a pee break on the bike the zipper broke and left it in the most open position. Was fine on the bike as I had more layers. But I paid for this later…
Going out to run i felt ok and relatively warm (it was about 50F) but once the sun went down behind the mountains it got cold quick and out there on the course was me, with a tri singlet and a zipper all the way down…People from my tri club that saw race pics later asked what the hell I was thinking…Told them wish I had a choice. When I finished the race (in a miserable time) it was already dark and close to freezing temps again.
All I wanted was my warm cloths and a warm shower. But since the day was a cluster f&^k this wasn’t that easy.
I got to my clothes all freezing and called my wife that was supposed to meet me with the kids. No answer…
Stranded out in the cold, her cell phone battery died…I had to walk in the IM village with all my gear, freezing, looking for my wife and kids…After over an hour of being miserable, she called me from another phone.
Took a while but we finally got to the car, loaded and turned the heat on full blast.
It was the coldest day of my life, epic day, a day for the books!!!!!
Hypothermic half marathon in 2011. Was about -25 Celsius including windchill, a frozen & snowy surface to run on. Still had a decent day looking back. :)
Coldest ride was when it was about 30 F out which is not that cold, but I was wearing just normal bibs + jersey with arm warmers and knee warmers. Bad decision.
Running in snowy Nelson, British Columbia on Christmas Day! Being a coastal guy I only get a couple trips a year to areas with the kind of winter conditions experienced by the rest of Canada. Those are some of the best runs of the year.
Kansas City, MO in December. About 12 degrees before wind chill. About 0 with it.
Had a 6 mile run around the neighborhood in early December, was 27 degrees F. I was considering ending my outdoor run for the season. Go Hawks!
5 mile ride to work at 29 degrees F.
I didn’t have any terribly cold runs, but I had a run in the pouring rain. Came back home soaking but with a smile on my face!
Posting from the West Coast of Canada….had a cool 12k run today around -5C. Headed out early tomorrow for 20k, should be around the same temp. Not as cold as out east, still pretty cold for the west coast.
2 Miles in the ice and snow with the temperature in the single digits up at Lake Tahoe after a full day of skiiing
Attempted OW swim across to Isle of Skye in Lycar swimsuit, waterer temp around 5 degrees – embarrassingly didn’t even make it half-way. Money will be spent on wetsuit methinks.
Despite our incredibly mild winter we have had a few cold mornings in SF. Coldest would be a 38 degree run up to twin peaks, the view has a way of warming you up.
it’s been a mild winter in belgium. the coldest training must have been a turbo session with all windows open, but still it was +5 i guess
It’s not actually cold here in Israel – so just about 5c degrees with a strong wind earlier this winter.
During the worst storm of the year I went out for a run when I thought there is a little pause in the pouring rain. Unfortunately I wasnt right….
This winter, during a training week over new year, it was minus a few degrees, wind blowing in the fog – too cold to run really, but still fun with magic feeling the in the foogy woods.