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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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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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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.
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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!
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.
Here in Melbourne Australia I am lucky enough not to have to switch up training too much. A few more layers and a cup of concrete with a side of complaining is all it takes.
In New Jersey here, so the winters can get a bit cold and messy, especially for early morning runs. But with enough layers, it’s possible to stay warm, and even enjoy it. I am a bit more likely to replace a run with an indoor exercise during the winter though. No reason to be stupid about it.
It gets really cold in Ottawa Canada. Already switched all my training to gym — 3 days treadmill, 3 days spinning/swimming and 1 day cross training.
Structured bike training via trainerroad and Zwift and a bit of fell running. Occasional pool swim to keep it up.
I just shorten my stride, and try not fall on the ice (only happened once in 15 years.) I love running outside in the snow here in British Columbia, even though I’m slow (10-11 min miles), I feel like a badass, since no one else is on the roads.
shifting focus from cycling to (more) running. And occasionally a sweat session on the rollers…
More trips to the mountains on the weekends. Weekly runs and ride staty constant just slap on warmer gear to reduce shrinkage. :P
I’ll be training for my first Boston. Icy/freezing temperatures await. I always do my long run outside, but usually move at least a couple midweek sessions on to the treadmill.
I hate skiing and don’t really like gyms either, so it’s running outdoors through the winter or not running. I choose the former. We haven’t seen a lot of snow these last few winters in southern Finland so combined with the crappy summer we had it probably won’t be that big of a change weather-wise. And atleast it’s a nice little excuse for buying new running stuff all year round.
I’m coming of (another) injury so I’m just taking it easy running and focusing on strength so I don’t get (re)injured again!
Bought some lights for my bike. Trained my kids to clean it. And keep on cycling!
I just end up running in the dark (headlamps, reflective gear and warmer clothes) and relying on my running group for accountability. Plus we have the “weather window” (it generally doesn’t rain between 5:30 and 6:30 AM in Eugene for some reason).
The weather in VA stays pretty mild so not much deviation except for extra layers
Grab a torch and a wind-proof jacket and run, run, run. There’s marathons to be done in April.
This winter I’ll try to run as much as I can and also some cross training.
I ride indoor on a trainer.
I change sports of course. Winter is beautiful here but it is only good for skiing not for running. But cross-country skiing is not bad at all. Actually ice skating on a pond is great alternative too. Yeah, sports in winter are different than sport activities in other seasons.
I carry on as normal, train outside as well as inside. only when it’s really windy will I be forced inside.
How do you adapt your training schedule for winter? Do you change sports altogether, or do you happen to be one of those lucky ducks living in Hawaii?
I will mostly switch to swimming and doing freeletics. But i still run down to -15°C.
I may be slow but I’d look good.
Who needs to change activities when you have great gear! My gear gets warmer, but that doesn’t mean sacrificing the technical quality of my clothes. I still wear sweat-wicking fabrics, that way I am not sitting in my own sweat when running in the cold.
I live in California, so i have to start wearing a Buff and bring a torch on my runs. Terrible!
A bit more indoor training, but when there is still some daylight outside (and my schedule is flexible enough) into the nature I go. Hope some snow gonna storm out from somewhere :)
I’m an Australian in London, and not accustomed to cold – so I often wrap up in multiple layers, hide in my back shed on the trainer and punish myself for hours while holding the door shut with one hand to keep the rain from getting my tablet wet. That’s normal, right?
Panhandle of Florida is the perfect winter training area, only adjustments required are running later in the day to avoid the cold and bundling up on the bike. Even the pool stayed open (until this year) but without it we can still swim open water, albeit with a wetsuit. Ironman Florida is just the beginning of focused off-season training! Oh, and of course you have to make time for football, after all the SEC is the heart of college sports. Gig ’em.
I brace myself… cause winter is coming.
Break out the cross country skis and running snowshoes – you have to enjoy winter!
HTFU! Frozen snot runs and rides.
Usually can manage outdoor runs during winter, but when not able incorporate treadmill or weights into training!
shifting focus from cycling to (more) running. And many sessions on the rollers…
In NH, it’s all about quality cold weather gear and finding your limits: last year, I found that -14F was my limit, as it was simply too cold on the small amount of skin that was bared.
– Jeff
Lots of indoor training. Great excuse to add in more weights. Oh, and rain gear of course =)
I stick to mountain biking also during winter. Just dress up and take a change of clothes, so I can ride down the mountain in dry clothes. :-)
Slow the swimming and get the turbo trainer going for evening sessions and bad weather. Fit in a few running races where possible
Warmer clothes and go on!
I need more motivation for my training :)
More time in the gym and on the treadmill. If nasty weather on the weekend hit the local cycling studio.
I don’t change things up much in the winter, just have to be flexible on those rare days we do get snow. If it’s just heavy rain, I still do the ride or run.
Biking to work has been replaced with spinning before work…
I’m putting away the pretty carbon Di2 road bike and pulling out the steel “gravel” bike with disc brakes… or, at least, I will be when the weather turns bad. It’s supposed to be a snowy year here in the DC area, if you recall what that can be like.
Layers, and the occasional extra cup of hot coffee.
I have a broken wrist at the moment so am only capable of turbo training!! Can’t wait for the cycling gains next year though…
Go mountainbike go, and a Tacx session twice a week
Netflix and cocoa…….maybe some snowshoeing
I wil not be running much since it’s dark and depressing outside so I’ll do more indoor sports
There is a lot of snow where I live, so you either put up with it or you have to move inside for the winter. I hate treadmills so I just run through the snow and enjoy my wet feet.
Some friends suggested I should get a pair of snowshoes but I’m not entirely sold yet, anyone have some experience?
Indoor training and skiing:)
I live in Israel, no changes in training
I live in Norway and I use to go cross country in the winter months. But as always running my weekly track intervals in the indoor track at Bislett
I play indoor soccer and use the gym in the winter :)
#grind
Thanks for the chance to win such a RAD timepiece!
Outside riding is replaced by Traineroad + Zwift on a Kickr, swiming is 90% indoors anyhow thru the year, not much change, running, snow has never been an issue :)
Plan on taking this winter like every other one, bundling up and running fast to stay warm.
Indoors mainly during the week, but is still impossible to me to do the long bike indoors, even if is freezing I have to do it outside.
My bike goes on the Tacx. So I can ‘continue’ to ride my bike. But more often I just run. Add layers, add visibility(!) and trail well-know routes.
I go south to Italy (from Geneva, Switzerland) for motocross training. 8-)
Otherwise more indoor gym and some Skiing
Living in Scotland, the training quickly turns to runs and the turbo trainer in the garage!
I live in SoCal… no need to change anything but wear a parka to the outdoor pool.
Dress warmer
Road to the velodrome and rollers
Here in Poland I have to adapt my training … mentally. When it’s cold and dark, training is the last thing you would consider enjoyable. Much mental strength is required to take off your slippers and hit the road, especially after 12 hours at work. No pain, no gain! Keep tour head up and enjoy every moment of the training – that’s my advice. If you do so, next Spring will be rewarding!
More running and indoor training.
More swimming and weight training.
How do you adapt your training schedule for winter? Well I try to cross train with different classes at the Y. Try kettlebell and plyo classes that just give me something else to do. I train to get motivated to swim, but that doesn’t always happen and I maintain my running. I do love to start playing pick up basketball during the winter until I get injured. HA
Murfreesboro TN gets cold and rainy for the winter. I move from outdoors walking and jogging to inside gym. Stair climbing/elliptical with more weight training.
Bike time on the trainer. Running on the treadmill, but only when the roads and trails are too covered in snow/ice. I could cross country ski again…
Indoor spinning!
Thanks to your advice now I own a Tacx vortex smart, which will be my main training tool through the winter. Still wondering if sticking to Tacx or going zwift or other.
I observe exercise “daylight savings time” and move all my runs to lunchtime :) and my bike rides to the trainer :(. Swims have to compete with runs at lunch, since it’s hard to get up that early before sunrise.
Winter = cross-country ski and home trainer!
I hop on the suicide machine aka bike rollers.
Goretex and go… (or go to the gym)
put spike on the bottoms of my shoes for gripping the ice and wear lots of layers.
or if its too cold inside on a track
Just extra layers and a little more determination…
2 or 3 layers of Odlo and I’m good to go outside even when it is -20C.
And sometimes spiked running shoes :)
Plan to stay the course … but with warmer gear!
I keep the same running schedule M,T,TH,SAT, and on the other days I incorporate cross training with weights and biking on the in-door trainer.
For winter, I do more interval sprints in street light areas and indoor strength training; endurance conditioning takes a hit though.
Living in Tucson, there are only 2 training seasons: get your workout in before 6AM, and the other 8 months of the year!
I’ll just stay indoors
Being Dutch, I switch from cycling to speed skating in the winter. Training for the 200km alternative ‘Elfstedentocht’ in January on the Weissensee lake in Austria.
While we’re having a mild-so-far November in Louisville, Ky., December through February usually have their fair share of icy, snowy days. (And we don’t do a great job clearing roads/sidewalks, so sometimes outdoor activities are dangerous more than just inconvenient.)
I belong to an exceptional gym and during the winter months take more advantage of the facilities, including the 250+ group classes per month. My running stays pretty consistent with use of the treadmills and indoor track, but I add in more spin classes (there’s also a duathlon class combining intervals in spin and on the indoor track that I want to try). I also emphasize strength and core through more Pilates and yoga classes. And, there’s always the pool if I was so inclined.
Put on an extra layer, and go run.
I would like to change sport very much from cycling and running to crosscountry skiing, but it has been few winters back we had sufficient amount of snow easy reachable here in central europe before Christmas. So it is actually still running and cycling in warmer clothes this way. Hope it is different this winter.
I use a concept2 rowing machine and continue riding on weekends through the winter.
As I live in Norway it’s very difficult to swim outside during the winther. So I swim at the local pool with my team mates. But that’s allright to.
Quite a bit less cycling for the benefit of cross country skiing.
And running outdoors as much as possible, despite snow, cold and lack of daylight.
Winter ist the time to work on your core muscles. Doing some alternative sports like spinning, snow hiking, yoga, weight lifting. And of course: eating tons of chocolate.
I change to LSD training and look for some snow races in the North. It helps keep things fresh
I will focus on swimming. Running is always possible – so I will keep on running. So what about riding the bike? I will think about which trainer to spent on my money till the winter is gone ;-)
I’ll be cycling on the trainer indoors along with the rest of my tri team, followed by brick runs outside. Pool training sessions will not change.
My training is just ramping for IMTX again. I will be on the trainer a lot (a la Andy Potts) and running outside in warm clothes.
Unfortunately I tend to loose motivation and not to train in the cold winter.
I we are lucky, we have a proper snow in Estonia which means cross-country skiing and fun times in the forest. If we are not so lucky, then mixing running and hiking is also a good alternative for a gym and indoor cycling. :)
No change at all for winter, just a bit more clothes and a bit less sweat.
Speedskating (on ice) is a perfect training for cyclists!
The colder the better, only downside to winter running is fewer daylight hours
Cyclocross of course, along with some pool time in Jan/Feb. I’d rather be outside!
More indoor training with Zwift and the KICKR, but the occasional long Sunday ride and the Tuesday night gravel ride, depending on how snowy/slushy it is in the winter here in Philly.
Only warmer clothes, no other difference. :)
i just bought a pair of removable spikes for winter running. there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad/inappropriate gear!
More swimming pool, less bike, and warm clothes to run!!!
My riding moves 100% indoors to a trainer and my running becomes 50/50 treadmill vs. outdoors. My swimming isn’t really affected by the season.