Heads up! The Garmin Enduro 3 is down to $829, some $70 off. That’s the lowest price to date on this new device. The Enduro 3 is notable though because it’s basically a Fenix 8 Solar minus the dive/voice features (and the Fenix 8 Solar/MIP starts at $1,099). Everything else is there, and it gets all Fenix 8 software features (and, insane battery life). Meanwhile, the Fenix 7 down to $429! Or Epix at $429. There’s a bunch more sports tech deals listed here too!
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.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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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.
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 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.
No more races for me, but hoping for a nice 10k in the Quebec snow (and cold) this weekend!
take the KOM on Zwift Island.
1 hr steady elliptical warmup and a 6-mile out and back mountain hike/run with over 1000′ of climbing. In the rain.
In Spain, Dec. 31 is usually a day of runs in a lot of cities (the San Silvestre, can be 5K or 10K). People tend to run in costumes. In my city it is a 5K. Will be there.
The Strava Festive 500. My annual sufferfest tradition!
Running the Miami Marathon in January! Thanks Ray.
I’ve got two sprint nordic races scheduled for tomorrow, We’ll see if we have enough snow…
crossfit/cardo core 3x week
I’m doing a US Road Running – 1/2 Marathon Reindeer Racer 2014 Run on December 14th.
Crossfit endurance on Monday. Pose drills and a run
6km on the treadmill workout Tomorrow December 6th per achilles rupture injury rehabilitation.
6k xc race in Denver. Then trying to get my mileage goal for 2014
Running a half-marathon in less than 1:40 min.
Bike ride at 5:30am. 28 Degrees F with 15mph wind gusts, pitch dark and had a ball!
Parkrun, Orpington UK – tomorrow with my nine year old son…
I am running 5Ks every other day for the month of Dec! Cheers and thanks for doing this,. Very cool again.
My first fitness training session with my new coach on Sunday 21st December 11.30am. The starting point of my journey towards the Exmoor 70.3 Ironman next June!
A xmas eve century bike ride
On December 14th I will run in the Barcelona-Catalunya 1 circuit… a fun 10K race in the same place the Formula 1 Cars and Moto GP bikes usually run… we will go much slower but will enjoy every bit of the asphalt track !
I’m doing Velothon Wales in June – 2 days before my Birthday. Lots of climbs….worried already
First 10K training run. Outside in Utah!
Hopefully, my first 7 km run..keep trying, keep improving!!
Finish work in time, pick up kid1 and take it to YMCA, run and take kid2 and take it to swim class, run and pick up kid1, back to kid2, take kid1 to Boy Scout, go home prepare dinner in 1 hour, and go pick up kid1 from scout. Shower kid1 and 2. Dead tired in bed !!!
XII Vuelta a Ibiza Campagnolo Cicloturista 2014, three days; 216,5km; 3950m ramp.
15k in Annapolis MD on dec 14
A 10,000 meter swim-a-thon with my old club swimming team!
20k+ run in muddy and wet Santa Cruz Mountains this Sunday. Hope we’ll get enough water this year!
1/2 Marathon tomorrow in California.
Well I just finished IMCZ so most of my workouts for the rest of the year are how much I can eat. Does that count?
I’m limping (literally) back into running after an Achilles injury with a series of easy 3 mile runs.
A 50k trail race in Albion, IN right before Christmas. Should be fun and cold!
Jingle All The Way 5K in D.C. this Sunday. I’m hoping for no rain!
10k in Annapolis on 12/14
Track Meet – 1500m and 3k Steeplechase. Might do a 5k race before the end of the year as well.
No races, but lots of cross training on the indoor cycle while I nurse an injury! I’d love a new Polar m400 :-)
Couch to Car shuffle, it’s a short distance high intensity session that takes 365 days to build up to.
My workout will be the Rotterdam Bridge Run on sunday 7th december
18 mile run scheduled next Sunday morning as my peak training run before tapering for the Two Bays Trail run (28km) on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne Australia. Will be taking my little kelpie dog with me for a pre-dawn start down peaceful (and car free!) back roads.
Swimming 10 x 400m. At a considerable pace, quite a rough session!!
10k run sat’dy after 2 months off
Santa run 5K tomorrow to raise money for Salvation Army (charitable cause) HOHOHO!
Twice a week Hour long hot yoga with added flexibility and core strength work every day.
Dallas Marathon, December 14th.
Century ride from Baltimore to Annapolis and back on Sunday
Christmas Story 10k that goes from the old Higbee’s store to the house used in the movie and back.
Scheduled may be the wrong word, but right now I am really looking forward to enough snow for this winters first cross-country skiing workout.
First 5k, ever. Started running a few months ago and love it!
A 7km run inside the 2014 Fifa Soccer World Cup stadium in my hometown. We are supposed to run through the bleachers, tunnels and the like. It should be quite different.
Besides that, quite a few training sessions including treadmill runs, indoor cycling, weight workouts and some runs…
Reindeer Dash for Cash – 10 Mile Run on December 7th in Greenville, NC. Money raised for scholarships to ECU
I am going to the swiming pool on Monday’s evening. Greetings from Poland !
Knee surgery yesterday. My workouts for the year will be learning to walk up and down stairs ;<)
Iowa state cx championships 12/6.
First brick workout in 4 months, and a 5 k race on the 31st followed by champagne
Need to get back to my weekly Graeme Obree inspired 15 mile trainer time trials. Doing these made me much faster on the bike this year! I would love to know my power on these workouts. Also I live in Fairbanks Alaska so I get 6 months outdoor road bike time tops. Pity me and give me the prize please. I will definitely put the work in indoors!
Eli.
Tomorrow, Saturday Dec 6 a 5k and next Saturday dec 13, the ugly sweater 5 k, then start training for longer distances. I could use new gear to motivate me!
Participating in a Jingle Bell Jog on Saturday!
An almost constant stream of The Sufferfest turbo seasions, as I work towards the Haute Route Dolomites event next year.
Running Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore this coming Sunday!!!
It’s summer here but I’m going to ride Mt Buller tomorrow, about an hour’s climbing and I’ll most likely be done it in the pouring rain. I’ll use that to benchmark my FTP
Lap swimming tonight using the Scosche Rhythm+ with a Vivofit to get heart rate while swimming via Ant+. Got the idea from this blog!
Running stanchart marathon.
Kurnell Sprint Tri – Australian team qualifying race on the 14th December….
Park Run Highbury Fields tomorrow
Hopefully returning to triathlon after 2 injury filed years.
Keep up with my husband on Zwift Island.
Grand Teton Half next summer
A close friend and I have been biking a nearby trail called the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, in 25 to 50 mile segments. However, the cold weather here in the Pacific Northwest has made these late-in-the-year rides a bit more difficult, especially with the recent snow leaving black ice on all the trails.
We are hoping the slightly warmer temperatures this weekend will keep the trails clear, as we’re planning to finish the trail this Sunday. We’ll be riding from Kellogg, ID to Mullan, ID and back, which is about 36 miles. The ride there is a constant incline with a gain of 1100 ft.
You can read about the rest of our recent rides, like the 53 mile ride in pouring rain, on our blog.
Double Brushy in North Carolina 134 miles and over 10,000ft of combined climbing.
Wow, 2411 comments already.
I’m running the Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona, CA on 12-14-14.
Third year in a row – two 2:17’s so far; looking for a 2:14
Bought a new house so now I am out discovering all the new routes around the river. Early morning runs and rides along the river are such a great way to start the day. So very lucky.
I will be doing some HIIT tomorrow. 15 min Warm up followed by 30 seconds hard 60 seconds easy 8-10 reps. Then of course a cool down!
12 K’s of Christmas in Kirkland, WA. And hopefully getting lots of miles under a new bike!
30 min warmup, 20 minute FTP bike test, 1 hour Z2 cooldown.
Columbia SC Half Marathon coming up!
When it is below 35 degrees doing 10x of a short local 15-20 percent hill.
Gonna be doing 100x100s in the pool for New Years!!
I’ll be riding the double Triple Bypass in July.
10K Sunday, to complete my weekly running goal. Rain or snow in Ottawa..
We will be running the Hoover Dam marathon on Dec 13 for our 25th wedding anniversary!
I go to a body pump class three days a week. Twice a week I swim laps and run. I’m not going to start training for any races until the new year.
No more races this year, I plan on doing lots of hills and squats/DLs at the gym to build up for next year’s races.
Painful running test in the track tomorrow for me. The good news is that I did the swimming and biking ones already this week. Need to keep testing progress as you know!!!
Blue and Gray Half Marathon this Sunday. Hospital Hill at mile 12 is always something to look forward to!
Snowflake shuffle, in Minnesota, mid-late December. Past temps have been anywhere between 30 below windchill and 50 F.
I have to exercise weekly due to health issues. Jogging, football. Anything helps
A New Years Eve run, in stead of drinking and eating to much at parties
TrainerRoad rides with my wife. Getting her ready for another AIDS/LifeCycle.
20km LSD running in Tokyo.
2k swimm tomorrow followed by 15k run next day…
Dallas Half Marathon since my legs are still a little toast following NYC. Hopefully it doesn’t get cancelled again this year!
Riding my new bike!
My second ever Triathlon!
It’s only going to be 300m Swim/10km Ride/2km Run, but that means it’s twice as long as the last Triathlon I did. My partner is an ex-athlete recovering from CFS and I’m trying to join in to help her out, though she will likely beat me again so I’m not sure who really needs the help…
I plan to play futsal on Sunday, that’ll be the first time for over a year. I think my knees are ready for that now.
I get my broken foot x-rayed on December 31st so no workouts until 2015.
10 mile TT at daybreak. Starting base-building for 2015.
This is a recovery week after Seattle Half Marathon, but next week start new 8-week block in prep for Ironman Oceanside next spring.
I am waiting for an ablation procedure on Dec 16th which means I have not been able to run or do any strenuous exercise since Sept. So for me every walk that I do means my goal is to walk for 1hr and maintain a pace of under 9mins/km or 5.59mins/mile.
Will be doing a 4 hour Sufferfest session next Saturday in preparation for the Knights of Sufferlandria effort on January 24.
I have the Hot Chocolate 15K in St. Louis in another week. Trying to get my mojo back after Ironman Maryland!
4 gorges ride (140km, fair whack of climbing) tomorrow in Sydney. Lovely ride but after 140km today it might hurt a bit.