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.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
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.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.
-
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?
-
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.
Yes pleae!
Satruday: 1h30 minutes, run at the half marathon pace,
Sunday: long swim, easy.
3 hours hilly ride Saturday, then 3 hours steady bike Sunday
40k mountain bike ride and then a couple of pints to wet St Paddys day. Has to be done. Happy Paddys day folks.
Hey Ray,
on saturday I did 10km slow run, on sunday I did a 10km run with 5km at 10km competition pace, for preparing my race next sunday!
150m bike ride with 3x 20 min at Race pace followed by 45m T-run on Sat. Sunday was a 30 min bike pre- 8 mile run followed later in the day with another 8 mile run. Spent.
Hey Ray,
on saturday I did a 15km race, so sunday was a recovery day!
Snowboarding on Friday and recovery during the weekend with a run Monday.
To recover from this cold. Easy trainer ride Sunday.
Sat Morning: 10x500m @ T-Pace
Sat Afternoon: 1 hour muscular strengthening
Sun: Long Run 2 hours with 2×20 Marathon Pace
Preparing the Paris Marathon the 6th April.
Sat: 10k run
Sun: 2h+ orienteering (freezing, but no snow…)
Papa John’s 10-miler here in Louisville, KY this Saturday, then hopefully a long run on Sunday. Hoping for warm weather!
10 mile easy pace run Sunday with -5 wind chill. Love the polar vortex!
3.5 hour bike follwed by a 40 minute run on Saturday. 60 minute run and 2400 yd swim on Sunday. Preparing for my first 70.3
Getting back to it after an injury = 5K run and a 30mi Bike ride. WOOT!
10 kms easy run on sunday.
21k run last yesterday(16th) done in 1:26:08, next Weekend: 5h bike and 2,5h Long jog :)
Taking the directions literally, To Enter: Give me your weekend workout plans. Simple as that!
Friday-Brick 30is mile ride followed up by 3-5 mile run
Saturday Morning Water Ski on Mission Bay. Saturday Afternoon 20ish mile ride
Sunday Morning 45-50 minute core circuit exercise program; Sunday afternoon long run approx. 2 hours
Lots of skiing!
Sat: a 1/2 h run and 1 h on Road Nike
Sun: a swim and 2 h MTB – then a beer and a loooong nap :-)
No plan for this weekend. Rest was medicaded by the Doctor.
An easy 10 miler yesterday.
After 6 days of workouts Sat was a rest day! Back at it Sunday with a 5 mile run. Gearing up for 1/2 Ironman training which starts April 6th!
Recently took to cycling and training to do my first 100 miles. Looking to losr weight and have fun. I did 40 miles my furthest distance yet! Not long till I break the 100 mile barrier!
It will amount to at least 50 miles on the bike and 16 on foot……but the most exciting part is some of that may be outside!!
TrainerRoad “The Thumb” and a double run day. Nothing too exciting, weather was pretty nice though!
10 mile run on Saturday. Cross training at YMCA on Sunday. Getting ready for race season.
30 mi group ride on Sat, followed by interval runs on Sun
My weekend workout plans: depending on the weather; a long mountainbike ride or an epic windsurf session.
Sat: 40′ of TR plus Core/Stregth work
Sun: 1h on treadmill in hotel plus Core/stretching
Hi!
I want to do my own interval workouts using my new FR 220!
Thank you very much for best in the world reviews!
Breg,
Saturday is soccer day, so Sunday is the only day this weekend. It is also my choice of St. Party’s Day and that’s my annual first long ride. In all green kit. With beer. Needless to say no intervals or crazy climbing/descending, but challenging and fun none the less. Espresso gel chased with a chocolate coffee stout is wonderful.
On Saturdays, weather permitting, I hike 3-5 miles in the Black Walnut forest. Sundays-lane swimming.
Vacation – San Diego
Friday 3/14 – 2 hour USS Midway Tour – not sure of official mileage traveled.
Nutrition – jogged .3 miles to the local Greek Resto- Gyro plate
Saturday 3/15 – 4 hours wandering around Sea World. Sorry Sea World staff would not let me put in some laps with the dolphins or the killer whales.
Nutrition @ SW – what ever was available for purchase along the route.
Sunday 3/16 – Recovery Day – Big Breakfast # 2 @ Konos Surf Shop & Cafe.
1 hour active recovery walk along Mission Beach – distance traveled unknown. Very crowded, lots of start and stopping.
Friday: 1600m time trial and 7 mile moderate run
Saturday: R&R
Sunday: 30 mile Bike Ride with scattered 2 minute cadence intervals
Sat – Run – Zone 2 (01:15), Swim – Endurance Form #3
Sun – Bike Zone 2 (02:00)
Mon – Strength (01:00)
Took the weekend off from triathlon training and rested!
Friday: 8 to 10 miles.
Saturday: None (I have 24 hours work shift).
Sunday: About 16 hilly trail miles.
Hiked 18km as training for the 4 days marches in Nijmegen (4 days, 50km a day) and a short recovery run after running my first 1/2 marathon after 15 years..
Skate skiing at Eldora Nordic Center on Saturday, did 26 km. Sunday was a 2500 m swim at the gym.
50 min swim on Friday, 2 hour bike on Saturday, and a 1:40 run on Sunday.
Fri: 17 km long run (had the day off work)
Sat: 6.1 km
Sun: 8.54 km
LSD on Saturday 12 miles
Cross Train on Sunday 18 miles biking
Saturday – 3 mile run
Sunday – day off!
Saturday – 10 miles on the bike, over every damn hill in the Surrey Downs
Sunday – lumberjack duty
How’s that for cross training?!
Sat – 3 mile run, Sun – 8 mile run
7 Miler on Sat
Sunday – off!
Two workouts:
1. FTP (15 min warmup, 5×1 min 100+ RPM, 10 min rest, 3×20 min @ FTP, 15 min cooldown)
2. 1 hour Active Recovery
I’ll give you guys my early season training which is light for the most part. Weekends in the Spring are spent doing:
7am EST
– 1h15m Z3/Z4 Turbo Trainer
– 0h25m Z3/Z4 Treadmill Run Incline increasing with each KM (typically 5km in 25 minutes)
– 0h20m Z2/Z3 1000M Freestyle Swim
– 0h30m Core Workout Routine
– 0h30m TriggerPoint Roller Massage/Recovery/Stretch Session
Thanks for another great contest Ray!
Friday 15km fast
Saturday 8km recovery
Sunday 30km long and slow plus a little windy ;)
Friday Spin Class followed by Battling ropes workout I’ve been doing lately. Saturday Off, and Sunday some time trials with a local bike club.
Took both Sat/Sun off to watch show jumping at the Grand Palais, so shifted final 20 miler to today, Monday. Did the southern side of Paris, up to the Chateau de Vincennes and finished by Notre Dame. And it’s now taper time for 6 April…
Saturday was a 40 mile hilly bike ride followed by an hour and a half lift and ab work at the gym. Afterwards a nice two-hour hike with my lady to enjoy the beautiful SF Bay Area weather.
Sunday was just a nice, easy 5-mile run in the evening!
I plan on doing 10 miles on Saturday and taking sunday off.
Saturday: 15k run
Sunday : Taking a spinning class and then lifting some weights
Saturday 3h road ride: 4×20′ tempo @ 160-168 bpm with 6′ min rest, after that 1h-1,5h base ride.
Sunday 4h offroad ride over 145 bpm avg.
12 oz curls of green beer
I racing in the Get Lucky 7K in Chicago IL
Saturday is an easy 30 minute spin on bike trainer. (Should have gone outside, weather was nice for a change)
Sunday is Shamrock Half-Marathon in Va Beach.
World Champions 1/2 marathon (copenhagen) is less than 2 weeks away. The weekend is therefore not fully packed, but 1 hour TRX, 1 hour Spinning/BKool, 8-10 km brickrun. If possible 2 k swim. Thanks for some great inspiration – go for Linneo bar if you’re in DF. Cheers Mate
50+ mile enduro ride
20m cx training ride for sea otter
I plan on running 9 miles, surfing for 2 hours and riding the bike for 30 min.
I ran a modest 6km on Saturday. Then the same today.
I am bumping up my long run mileage to 11 this weekend in my training for the Kalamazoo half marathon in May. Hopefully the lovely weather holds and there is even less snow this weekend!
Saturday is long run
Sunday rest
45 mile bike, 80 minute run
1 hour sufferfest on the turbo on Saturday, then a quick hour and a half sunny ride on Sunday before flying out to Korea.
Saturday rest because on Sunday it’s a sprint race in Kurnell, Sydney.
2 hour Trainer Road workout (still too cold to ride outdoors) followed by a short brick run.
3 hr ride on Saturday and brick workout on Sunday
Next Saturday, hopefully 2 hours of bike if the weather is still sunny and mild
And Sunday, long run – 1h30
Just one hour of running in Lille because of the smog. I prefer to wait it’s over.
Bike to local parkrun event and 5km parkrun on Saturday morning.
Improbable cross training on Saturday night, taking my 16 year old daughter and her friends to see gig by All Time Low (they wish they were Green Day!). Queue shuffling and Dad dancing.
Weekend plans? Big miles on the bike, supplemented with big beers off the bike.
Friday 5km interval
Saturday 8km tempo
Sunday 28km LSD
saturday 1.15 h uphill skialping early in the morning
sunday 1.00 h bike trainer
One day of tempo run and the other doing some home trainer biking.
Rollers, twilight run, and snow shoveling!
Ran 5.5 miles along the lakefront of downtown Chicago on Saturday as part of my Team In Training triathlon training schedule. Getting ready for my first event – Elkhart Lake (WI) triathlon on June, 7th 2014! Sunday was a rest day…and I needed it…too many cocktails on Saturday night.
Saturday 10 k run.
Sunday a well earned rest.
4 km swim and 50 mtb
Sat – 3km swim. 2 hour trainer session.
Sun – Longer run and weights.
Love the site.
10k (run/race) Saturday, active recovery bike ride Sunday. Unfortunately, it’s the treadmill for a rainyand windy Monday.
20 mile run
Actually, skiing with my son
2.5hr (mostly) Z2 ride, 20min Z1 transition run on Saturday, and a 75min run (60 at Z2, 15 at Z4) and 30min easy swim on Sunday.
Saturday: 11 mile run in the hills
Sunday: Rest
Plan vs. reality:
– Plan: two 15 mile “maintenance” rides
– Reality: two days of bed rest to fight flu-like symptoms …
28 km run on Saturday morning with a friend who is preparing for the Boston Marathon, followed by 45 minutes of swimming (indoor pool – still freezing cold here in Montreal…)
To Enter: Give me your weekend workout plans. Simple as that!
5 K run Saturday and 10K on Sunday!
As always, great blog post and reviews (okay that was the appreciation for now)
sat: 35k @ race pace
sun morning: 5k slow, afternoon: 10k slow (recovery)
Saturday: 22km easy run, with nice weather
Sunday: 73km Mtb, cold and windy. Freezing a lot when I was back at home.
Saturday 45 min on the ergo bike pushing hard.
Sunday 1:30 on the ergo again. Hope for better weather.
Saturday: 5 mile easy run + 20 min Power Workout
Sunday: 16 mile long run
I would like to do my first 100km cycling this year :) Preparing for Herbalife Triathlon in Gdynia, Poland in August
100km on the bike on saturday and 10km run +2km swim on sunday
Sat: 13.5 ride and 5 mi run and a short walk
Sun: 8 mi run and 45 min walk
Sat 1/2 day hike along the Pennines way near cross fell, Sun gentle jog along the sea shore where I live in Lytham St Annes time dependant on hr and weather but 10 k ish
Friday: Run day
Saturday: 50 mile bike ride
Sunday: 22 mile cool down ride
Hi – love your blog (and your Lady’s cupcakes. Stopped by her shop last week while in Paris).
Anyway: my weekend workout plan:
Saturday: 12-18:00 volunteer fire dept. competition training (involves lots of sprinting, rolling and unrolling hoses, connecting hoses to valves, etc.)
Sunday: slow 10k jog (just coming off excruciating 10-week break due to first-ever shin-splint episode), with intermittent exercise stations (push-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks, burpees, planks, etc.)
Core workout and short run
Long(er) run for the week. Get wet in the pool.