Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
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 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.
Building up the leg muscles through long hikes.
I did two rides. One was a long and slow 4 hour ride and one was a shorter interval ride. Both rides were outside which was a great break from riding on the trainer!
Sunday was runday (10mi) & Saturday was rideday (65mi) – with some good stretching on both
7 mile run completed and planned on a kickr training session but that was scrapped because my wife got her car stuck in the snow and I needed to help her out… what we do for love…
Zwift – Richmond , VA 90 minutes on Saturday , drafted some guy from New Zealand the last 15 minutes..lol
Run on Sunday with 3 mile warm up and 8 x 400 at the track (best effort) and then nurse it back home…
corrected email
I ran 4 miles on a treadmill with the last 2 miles being .10th mile speed repeats. I can’t wait for the spring to be able to run outside again.
Sunday morning before food, I spent an hour or so on zwift doing one of the workouts in their 12 week FTP training plan. Saturday was a rest day.
Two weight sessions, 3 runs (steady, interval, long run), foundation bike and swim intervals.
Getting ready for tri season!
My plans was 2+ hours of hard single track along with a nice sushi dinner with my family.
started my rounds in med schoool last week so the weekend was spent sleeping and hanging out with the wife and kids:)
For me it was easy run on Tuesday 5M, Freezing cold run on Thursday 5M, and treadmill run on Sat 5M and in bed sick Sunday instead of a Long run …
Cycling outdoors in the close-by forest!
Presidents day weekend so I had an extra day of long riding. Saturday was slow and steady, Sunday Hill Climbs and Monday was a 2 hr race pace.
Saturday a fast 15k, followed by a nice and easy 30k/1hr ride to loosen up.
Sunday early morning 2850m swim
Creek to Peak at Highlands – skin from base area up to 12392′ and ski back down.
Saturday, Feb 13, 2016
Sella Ronda 50.6 km 1667 m of climbing Total Time: 2 hr. 44 min.
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016
Palomar South Grade 18.8 km 1280 m of climbing Total Time: 1:24 P.B. !
Done on CVT with a Wahoo Kickr.
Been recovering from a foot injury, so only PT exercises unfortunately. Hoping to start running again in the next few weeks.
2 hour zone 1-2 run followed by 2 hours on the wattbike
Saturday, Swim session.
Sunday, Longish ~100km club ride
Just a short 3-mile stroller pushing jog with my son and lots of walking around NYC.
Saturday was a hike with the fiance and her family, Sunday was a day off. Monday, back to the grind with a quick spin on the bike. Regular training season hasn’t really picked up yet, so now its just “stay active”.
I ran 18 miles on Saturday and then took my dog with me for a quick 8 miler. Then I got sick on Monday! :( Unrelated I’m sure.
Started garmins Olympic triathlon training program.
Saturday bike intervals, Sunday 10k run.
Saturday was a long run day on my marathon training plan. Fortunately it was a short – long run at only 1.5 hours because it was colder than it has been, windy, and dreary so I was colder than I would like.
Sunday was scheduled to be an off day, but I took an easy 45 minute spin on the bike trainer to get the rust out of my legs.
Intervals (chasing a toddler around a park) and up/downs (woo baby feeding!!)
My training consisted of a nice 2 hour Zwift session! Oh, and eating pancakes, lots of pancakes…
10k run around Edinburgh taking in Holyrood Park, the Meadows and the Castle.
Sat : Super nice Mountain bike ride with my 2 daughters and friends
Sun: Vancouver First Half Marathon in the rain
Last weekend…no training whatsoever! Ate too much, slept too little. Back on the wagon this week! :)
Two rides, 90 minutes of intervals, and 120 minutes of tempo … and beer, it’s all about the beer
slogging though 22k of slush
13k track running
some valentines day gymnastics
TRX training at the gym on Saturday and a prediciton race on Sunday. I did neither since I came down with a horrible cough and running/exercising was not an option.
A 3 hr trainer ride with a 1 hr brick then a 12 mi run the next day. Winter training.. yay?
Last weekend i did 5km run in country side, 100km from Helsinki. Pace was terrible because of 3 days parties, hills and snow on the road. Picture from this run is available here link to gyazo.com .
I worked over the weekend but still managed to squeeze in a 20 mile ride and two 6 mile trails runs.
Did a too fast park run Saturday and a hilly valentines Sunday 15km out on the trails
i Ran LA MarathoN! woot – much hillier than expected
Frozen water bottle run — 16 mile run during which time the cap of my water bottle froze shut. I was able to remove the cap and get something to drink at a signal light though!
No running this weekend, but a lot of walking at Disneyland! This week, I’m getting back to training for a half marathon in May.
Long run of 18 miles with sub zero temps. A relaxed recovery run on Sunday to shake out the legs.
Hi Ray,
Easy run 1h on saturday, long run 2h30 on sunday.
Preparing for the next Paris marathon !
Cheers
Fab
Long hours in the mountains
Saturday was a 8 mile run in the morning. Followed by two Sufferfest bike videos in the afternoon: A Very Dark Place followed by The Long Scream. Sunday was another Sufferfest bike video: Fight club.
Running 8 km and some strength training.
Well lets see….Friday…..TRX …Saturday two hours spinning and then 30 minute brick run…..Sunday 30-45 Swim focusing on technique.
45 minute run followed by a pretty good spin class. No outdoor weather in Michigan to be seen.
Eight miles easy then a two mile walk with my sweetie.
I was on vacation in Antigua, so lots of open water swimming!
15 mile run including a cross country race on Saturday and a 23 mile steady long run on Sunday.
70 minute performance cycle indoor class (cut short due to Valentine’s Day dinner date)
Took a quick weekend ski trip to New Mexico so my normal training took a backseat to roaring like a madman down the mountain.
I did a 10 mile tempo run following the Hansons method.
On Valentine’s Day my wife and I ran the 3 and 5k, respectively, Winterman Road Races in Ottawa, Canada. Both of us came 2nd in our Age Categories and 7th overall in our races. I also did some testing on the Garmin 910XT verifying that it would work under extreme cold conditions (-24℃ with a windchill of -35℃). The watch did indeed function properly.
7.1 miles in Central Park in 21 degrees, 20-30 mph winds Saturday; 5.1 miles in 2 degrees, -13 windchill on Sunday.
I had the great pleasure of doing some ab work due to a wonderful case of the stomache flu.
Four miles at an easy pace for my second half marathon training plan.
Lot’s of painful bike intervals to increase FTP. Gotta put in that work now so I can move up from being a mid-packer to upper-mid-packer!
Recovery week. Easy run for 35 min on Saturday, and with shot 20 min run on Sunday
Some interval workout on Saturday
and then long run (27km) under the snow on Sunday. Rome marathon approaching.
On sunday there was Romeo and Juliet half marathon in Verona, but it’s just too sad racing it whitout any girlfriend.
Cheer me up 600$ credit!
My workout for last weekend was recovering from the week of skiing in the alpes (and the 900km drive between the alpes and the home)
Recovering from jetlag (Orlando, US to Sweden)….
Saturday: 4 Mile Trail Run with the newish New Balance MT910v2
Sunday: 2.5 Miles of lovely Paddleboarding
Actually starting to feel strong again and am enjoying mountain biking! And it’s been ridiculously warm here lately…like in the 80s….
75 minute recovery run Saturday, 125 min easy run Sunday on the schedule. Instead, had the flu and only got an hour trail run Saturday and spent the rest of the time fighting off death.
Sat:P90X-MMX Cardio
Sun: P90X – Dynamix
I did a beautiful 3.8 mile run around the LSU Lakes with the wife and our 18 month old boy. The baby jogger Summit x3 rocks! =]
I carried my twenty pound baby and pushed my thirty five pound toddler up a hill about three miles total. And I did my first run in some ten years. Fun, but I love my bike more.
Saturday’s motivation led me to 45 min of hometrainer and ended with a delicious raclette !
Interval swimmimg and a nice long ride in the hills.
Skiing in the Italian resort of Vialattea but without snow really ?
Ran a 50k called Holiday Lake 50k in Appomattox, VA. Had a 70 minute distance and course PR.
Zwift on Saturday, run on Sunday
Lots of walking!
Long Run with friends. No training program, just spend the time talking, enjoying the view, being happy….
Weights and rowing
2 treadmills runs, one with fast intervals, one trying to best a 5k time.
Did a brick on Sunday, tempo ride of 37 miles followed by a 4 mile run
A run and some yoga
I explored new roads with some sweet-spot thrown in.
Saturday was rained out, but on Sunday I biked to a 14k hilly run.
Just hiking with my son on a YMCA Adventure Guide outing, training was delayed a week :-)
I played 2 hours of ultimate frisbee and did some interval training
Saturday was 3 hr bike w/ some long intervals followed by 30 minute transition run. Sunday was a 2-hr run. Good, long base work.
Saturday – 7 mi run, Sunday 40 mi. bike, 4 mi. run
Easy Cycle around Amsterdam and then a solid run soaking up the city atmosphere.
2 hour ride on the trainer with Trainer Road on Saturday. Sunday was a 1500m swim followed by 4 miles on the treadmill, and then weekly indoor rock climbing session. All in all a fun weekend!
My triathlon team had a training camp this weekend, so we swam, rode, and ran A LOT.
Skiing 8 hours a day, 5 days straight. Life is good!
Running kids around to basketball practice and cooking dinner ;)
7000 yards of swimming, 14 miles of running, 3 bike workouts
I went on a trail run on Saturday, totaling 13 km. It was chilly!
I bought Scosche Rhythm+ and tried to run in 120-140bpm zone!
On the training plan I had a 3hr to 4hr in good weather, or 2hrs on the trainer if the weather was terrible
In reality I had to work all day Sunday and only managed 1hr of spinning on the trainer. At least it was snowing outside, so didn’t miss out on an epic ride :)
43 Miles – some maintenance runs, a track workout and a 10mi trail run.
Saturday was a rest day, and Sunday spent an hour and a half before my daughter woke up in Zwift-land.
Easy recovery trail run
Nordic skiing (Saturday = classic + skating, Sunday = pure classic).
1.5 hours on the trainer and 1 hour of swimming focusing on technique.
15km hike on Sunday, nothing else really. Just fattening up for Easter I guess.