Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple AirTag 4-Pack for just $69, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $249, (or the brand new Hero 13 or $299!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
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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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
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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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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 2024 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.
Fri: Tandem with my wife over some hills near home for 45 mins
Sat: Solo bike round lake Zurich plus some hills 3h
Sun: 1h easy on single bikes beside river with my wife
2.5km indoor swim on Sunday.
21km ran up Zurich Uetliberg and back 2km indoor swim at the pool afterwards on Sunday
Just returned from a trip to Ireland (talk about stupid timing – back to work in Germany whilst the Irish family will enjoy St. Patrick’s Day today). Did a few intervals on the turbo, high time to switch the back wheel back to the road tyre!
Last weekend, 33 mile trail run on the Saturday and 8 miles of easy running and walking for recovery on the Sunday. And the weather was perfect!
20km flat run
Saturday, run 15km and gym workout. Sunday 22km long run
A 19km run to prepare myself for the 20km of Brussels on May 18th.
Well, as the weekend is actually over, I can tell you what actually happened. 25 min. run on saturday and a stormy 3hr bikeride yesterday…
Long Ride on Friday, Skitour for Recovery on Sunday and take free time on Monday for Uphill training.
Perfect weekend if the weather in Austria at Saturday is nice for first year barbecue.
Friday 1 hour horse riding
Saturday 20mins running
Sunday 30 mins running
19km long run with 5k build to Z2, 5k at Z2, 3k easy Z1, 3k Z3, 3k CD. Add in some headwind, if you have :)
On Saturday a 10km trail running and on Sunday around 30km of MTB ride
12.5k tempo running in Madrid
A 30 km bike ride on Saturday, followed by a 3 km run with the girlfriend on Sunday.
Saturday: simple get the blood flowing 30 min run
Sunday: local 10K race (didn’t go particularly well, hadn’e slept well, felt tired half way through, but managed to finish around the hour anyway)
100km easy ride on Saterday and a race on sunday. Going to break the 40min at the 10km, looking forward to this.
Friday treadmill, 15 minute slow warm-up, 15 minute tempo and 15 minute cool down.
Sunday 7 km easy running.
Tri Club swim on Saturday and Tri club ride on Sunday.
Sat Long Bike / Run Brick, 2:00 bike with :20 run.
Sun Easy Run :40
:o)
Still recovering from my first tri, so only did two short bike rides this weekend. Damn, now I know many people are reading your blog, Ray!
No run this weekend, but a 18km walk to Vézelay, in Burgondy, on some good rest under the sun andwithout smog. Back to run on Tuesday!!
A 5km uphill & downhill run on the weekend. Total elevation 284m. Repeat 5 time. that would be 25km with total elevation 1420m. :)
Friday – Rest
Saturday – 15 Mile run with strides @ End
Sunday – 15 Mile bike ride.
50km of MTB XC. Nice
I did one short run of 12km yesterday and tomorrow 21km. Training for local marathon.
Went riding my bike in parco del Ticino along the canal, and then climbed some hills on the way back.
Gym workout for saturday and tempo run for sunday.
An hour gym (rehab workout)…onward and upward!
2.5 mile run Friday and Saturday.
9km run on Saturday
25km ride on Sunday morning
Slooow 17km run Sunday afternoon
Interval running session on Monday evening
Rest on Tuesday :-)
Weekend starts Friday – 20 km run early before work, need to fit in the long run before regional junior lifesaving championships will keep me busy and on my feet for 2 days, on the beach in the sun! Slow 15 on Sunday pm
Exercise has taken a long break in favour of wedding prep so fiancé and I are taking the bikes down to the National Park for a long ride through the trees. Gotta love Australia in the Autumn!
Saturday run 4 and cross train. Sunday run 6 and situps by the lake.
10km run on Saturday, 31km trailrun on Sunday.
Well, green beer drinking was in my workout plans this weekend. The town I live in (Wilmington, DE) has a pretty nice St. Patty’s bar loop, and we had a party starting at noon that went till 8:00. Plans as follows:
Friday – Upper body weights, treadmill 4 x 400’s w/1% incline at 5k pace (400 jog recovery), pick up keg for party
Saturday – 20 min race day warm simulation, party
Sunday – Easy run – 45 min, no watch, no pressure, just enjoy
Saturday I ride my bike doing 80km in road. Duration 4.24h
Sunday I run 10km in Fathers Day race. Duration 50min
Plan: 2*1,5 hr asphalt run at @150-155 bpm
Saturday: 10k tempo run
Sunday: cycle 1 loop of Ironman UK 2014 route
For the weekend I only have a dance class planned. Hopefully will manage a short run. I do most of my workouts during the week.
Saturday: Touch rugby – 2 hours…
Sunday: Croquet 1 hour
Bike ride with tri team-mates!!
Saturday was spent enjoying the sunshine, but Sunday we rode over to a friends cross country race which went well then a nice ride home in the sun!!
So, last weekend i did an 160k Ride in Austria.
At the upcomming weekend i will do a long job about 25-30km.
:D
Saturday: easy run along the Vardar River (5 miles)
Sunday: Macedonian National Half Marathon Championships (13.1 miles)
Sat Rest
Sun 10k race pace – didn’t go as expected though!
Friday: 10K race quiet, the area around my city
Saturdays: MTB Keynote Speaker, about 65 Km from the Sierra de Madrid
Sunday: My favorite race of 15K trail running through the natural park of Ruidera
Friday – Run to and from work easy
Saturday – 1 hour spin bike
Sunday – Push little one round the local park in a buggy for as long as he sleeps for!
8K run on Sunday at 5:30 mins/km with HR ceiling at 170bpm. I finished on pace but went above the HR ceiling by a couple bpms…
Simple run of 7k
After a week bike training of 216k
Fri: 90 min indoorcycling
Sat: 60 min distance run at moderate pace
Sun: 28K longdistane run
I’m planning to go mountain biking on Friday and to run 10 kilometers on Saturday.
Sat – Warmup – Interval Training on hills 5X5min (2min recovery) at threshold pace- Easy Recovery Run
Sun – 2hr Run at easy pace.
40km road biking – Saturday
8 hours back breaking gardening Sunday
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Because the weekend starts on Friday… First ocean swim of the season after work.
Saturday. 7 hours intense training on a racing yacht, followed by 1:30 max effort on the big followed by race pace 5k.
Sunday. On the boat again, followed by running intervals.
2 days of orienteering: Spring Spartacus Cup 2014 in Hungary
Duathlon competition simulation :
20 min warmup
10km running
40km cycling
5km running
Long cooldown
Wish me luck :)
Sat: trainer workout on my bike
Sun: short run
I was visiting sunny San Diego from the Polar Vortex that is Chicago. I got in a lovely experience climbing Mt. Palomar.
Saturday will probably be an easy 5K run after a week of ski.
Brick training: 3 hours cycling, 1 hour running and 30mins easy swimming.
Saturday run 5 miles tempo
Sunday run 1 hour
Can’t wait for weather above 40. This weekend will be cold and windy.
Sat: 2 hour trail run
Sun: 3 hour trail run
NFEC Bear Mountain training
Resting and recover from flu
DC Rock & Roll Marathon on Saturday 3/15; Sunday off; Monday shovel snow!
Saturday, a nice easy bike ride with my son – 65k or so.
Sunday – run 5k.
No running workout.
It was winter kayaking (through ice and slush) saturday and alpine skiing sunday…
Very nice week end!
I have a running injury, so I will be strictly cycling. Indoors. On the trainer. In front of the TV. I’m ready for summer.
Sat: Swimming in pool
Sunday Run prior to flight back home
Monday back on east coast and shoveling snow
Well, the weekend is over already. Was planning a short run Sunday night, but a combination of laziness and awful weather, even by Icelandic standards, put a stop to that. Settled for a 1000m breaststroke session Monday morning.
Sat: night orienteering competition
i usually do stretching, 2 sets of pull up (4-6 each), bench press with 80kg weight, sit up and thats all..while controlling my breathing on each move
Saturday: 16K trailrunning
Sunday: 19K running
Friday: Bowling with coworkers
Saturday: Moving house
Sunday: Moving house & a surprisingly hard easy run (9km)
If it was this past weekend, I did a 140km cycle from my house to a dam inland with a climb of around 2500m, 5 hours give or take, then a 4km swim at said dam (57min). On Sunday raced a 32km race around the dam (2hr40). And if you mean this weekend coming up, its race day for our South African Triathlon Champs, so easy ride Saturday and hopefully a quick Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. $400 would go nicely towards paying for a powermeter!
Morning ride, move furniture and bucks party!
Sat: Play with daughter. Work around the house. Run 6 miles. Play with daughter.
Sun: Play with daughter. Yardwork. Run 4 miles. Play with daughter.
Playing with daughter will be the most exhausting, but most fun!
Ski walk up “lost” ski area (oh, and walk down also)
Went hiking this weekend in the melting snow near fort william (scotland) – back to my usual cycling this week.
After 3 years of being “out of the game”, I will be doing the local running club 7.4km race on Saturday. Which will hurt a lot, and the Sunday will be chasing my 3 year old son around and a recovery swim. I may be sleep deprived, but I love my family and my life again
Core workout on saturday and a 5k treadmill run on sunday in the north of Sweden.
Sat: Did my first 50km ultra in Hong Kong.
Sun: suffering the after effects
My training this weekend consisted of a lite 10km run Saturday, followed by 5 hrs of bushball (paintball) Sunday.
My plans are to get in a quick 3 mile run on Saturday and hopefully get the road bike out of the house and onto the road on Sunday.
10K saturday, gym sunday
My training this weekend is a bit different than the usual group on here. I helped train a group of our local sailors on Saturday with a very busy day of drills. Then Sunday we went sailing again, for fun, in some big wind. I also went for a horseback ride as I’m working on my horse’s fitness.
My training was non existent this weekend due to a bad SI joint. I did see my frends off before their bike ride, and did one slow lap around the track with my 3 year old son.
My wife and I finished the four-day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu on Saturday, so with Sunday a rest and travel day, that was the extent of my workout.
illness kept me home.
Cross training on Saturday. 1000m repeats on Sunday.
Since it’s still a little chilly here in MN, 1 hour in RPM spin class followed up by 1.5 hours in TRX. Awesome calorie burn!
9 mile run followed by some pool work Sunday
My weekend workout was hiking up Mt. LeConte in Tennessee. Hiked in from Newfound Gap on Saturday, stayed in the Mt. LeConte Shelter over night, and hiked/slid down on Sunday. Beautiful place to visit. Wish the weather had cooperated!
10 km run on Saturday
10 run on Sunday
Saturday morning- 15 mile long run
Saturday afternoon- Trip to Crabtree Brewing
Sunday- Rest Day
Slow shortish run on Sunday to ease myself back into things post foot and knee injuries.
Friday: 7 km run
Saturday: Speedwalk
Sunday: Moving 2nd part
Plan was to have 1 km running phases in exact time but there was awful weather outside during whole weekend.
Saturady 10K run followed by another 20k run on sunday!
Crosstrained this weekend. Getting ready to put some miles down this week.