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.
2 hour Sufferfest ISLAGIATT on rollers
Half an hour on the turbo… recovering from a broken spine so not pushing too hard!
6 days of downhill skiing in Sweden, including the coaching of my 5 and 7 year olds.
I did some easy run, nothing special!
Strength training last weekend, planned to get a hiit run in also but wasn’t feeling up to par.
I would have loved to have my workout log say that I was supposed to bike 60-miles and follow it with a 3-mile run on Saturday, and that my Sunday should have 8 miles on the docket. And it would be even more awesome if I could have done it.
Instead, my workout log said that I should do 2×10 of straight leg raises for forwards, right side, left side, and lying on my stomach. And then a bunch of heel slides and quad sets, then 2×10 of lying on my stomach and bending my right leg to 90 degrees.
ACL reconstruction recovery is no joke. But 2.5 weeks post-op and I walked 7 blocks today…so I won’t complain too much about wearing a leg brace and only being allowed to bend my knee to 90 degrees.
Core training, otherwise 0.0-zip-nil-nada km… I have been taking 6 weeks off from running already to let a minor but rather stubborn chronic ankle/foot injury heal. Slowly getting better but not there yet… :-\
Rest and some more Rest (it was raining all Sunday, almost…)
Saturday brick (triathlon) session. 40 minute swim building in tempo. Then wattbike in HR Z2. Quickly onto an hour run doing sprints.
Sunday was a long run of 14 miles at marathon pace.
I try to get 20miles on zwift ever afternoon after work. Love Niger group rides/runs in the weekends
Saturday was a tough day with 100 kilometers on the time trial bike with some efforts. Sunday was a well deserved rest day after a good week of training!
Several trainerroad workouts, however the planned three hour outdoor got spoiler by rain, rain ….. I had to move it to yesterdays sunny afternoon. :-)
2 X 7 mile runs on Saturday, followed by a 6 mile run and 2 hours on zwift on Sunday
I did a half marathon race
Swimming, biking, running, yoga, and Strength training. Training for my first Ironman
I was too busy skiing; no time for training!
I did my first 100K ride this year on Saturday, and on Sunday a 90 minutes TrainerRoad interval session.
Suitably destroyed by the “wringer” on @gozwift
Saturday- Wylde Trails 12km Loop Before the Heat.
Sunday – Bitsa M7 Rollercoaster Ride with Blair & Craig.
Easy rides taking advantage of the balmy winter weather, ice skating with the kids. No structured training right now…
Last weekend was a mountainbike on Saturday and a run along the Pembrokeshire coastal footpath Sunday, preparing for the grizzly – link to axevalleyrunners.org.uk
Light jogging on Sat and Sun. Recovering from cold acquired while downhill skiing previous weekend!
Run a marathon
Saturday swim, Sunday 20 mile run with friends!
Saturday was a 10 mile run in the rain.
Sunday was a 40 mile ride.
I was on holyday with My Family, so I contented myself with a hike in the snow with My son happily secured on My Back.
NOTHING! I had hip surgery and so I wasn’t allowed to do anything until Monday….and even then it was only swimming.
Recover from flu :[ (Yesterday got back on the bike though!)
9h45 of cycling! 32mins of swimming! 20 mins of running! #priorities
Some yin yoga, 40 minutes cross-training, and a 5 miler.
after a week of ski, I had a slow 7 km and a slow & muddy 13 km on the plan
45.2 miles on a BKool Trainer in my basement (exciting)
I did a race on Zwift and then went and did laps with my team around the crit course, practice for this weekend.
Long run, unfortunately on a 200m indoor track, too much ice and cold outside for me.
12.5 km run in -23C weather on Saturday, 11 km run Sunday, and 34 km run Monday (holiday here).
Ran 5 miles intervals on Saturday via the treadmill and Sunday 7 miles easy outside on the Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt in Frisco, Texas.
Saturday – 3hr bike in zone 2
Sunday – easy 30 min run z1/z2
Saturday: 4 hrs on the Kickr (brutal)….low intensity base miles for ironman training.
Sunday: 2 mile masters swim followed by 2 hrs of treadmill running at low intensity too.
ALL INDOORS!!!!
Saturday was two hours of aerobic work with 30 minutes of tempo thrown in between. Sunday was a boring three hours of Z2 on the trainer….boy, was that fun.
14km treadmill run and 2h on trainer.
It was cold, so just intervals on the trainer while watching YouTube videos.
Sadly it was empty as I have a niggle in my right knee so forced to take a break :-(
A win would certainly take the edge off the pain I’m sure :-)
Interval workouts on Zwift!
“Groeten uit Schoorl” run, 21.1km through the dunes of the Netherlands (beatifull).
The weather was tough: wet and cold with lots of head winds!
My first half marathon race, and finished in 1hr31!
Perfect prize would be a nice Fenix!
Hit the weights, and knocked out a 20 mile mtb ride..
15k during Winter-Run-Series in Hilden to be well prepared for my first Marathon in Düsseldorf in April.
Cold + icy = home trainer and circuit training. Not fun but warmer…
10mile tempo run with a friend training for a 50mile trail run on Saturday. Two hour dog walk on Sunday in the snow!
Saturday walked 13K+ steps around watching my daughter in a horse show, Sunday ran 3mi, and the Monday holiday worked to afford the horse show!
1 short run
80/20 running training for an 30 miler in August. not even done a Marathon yet..EEK
Saturday: indoor 4×9-minute over-under intervals with 1-minute valleys at 95% FTP and 2-minute peaks that ascend to 105% FTP. 1:15:00, 92 TSS, 0.86 IF
Sunday: indoor 2 hours of Aerobic Endurance spent between 65-75% FTP, 98 TSS, 070 IF
Absolutely nothing, got a chest infection I just can’t seem to shift
Temps were in the mid teens (F) so for me, the weekend was mostly willpower training! 2 outdoor runs, 1 mile on Saturday and 2.8 on Sunday. Yeah, it’s supposed to be long runs on the weekend but I don’t function well in the winter :-)
4 days – running
3 days – weight training
Hoping for some good weather, so I can get on the bike.
Last weekend I was at the London Bike Show, drumming up business. But 8 hours a day of talking and standing on concrete I was doing stretching exercises just to keep from falling over!
1 hour ride with my new bike. And of course just for wrap up I made a 15km run.
We went for a long steady ride of approximately 80 miles with a few hills just for fun. Hope I win. Thanks.
Training schedule last week was blank.
Recently became a single dad bringing up two daughters under 8.
Having trouble finding time and energy to keep up the biking and running.
New gear might provide the impetus
1h of running in the winter cold, and 2h30 of bike on the trainer !
I did a little over 15 miles on Sunday — my marathon buildup called for 18mi with MP stuff, but it was frigid in New England that day!
3*10k slow steady runs and a nice long bike on the weekend.
Injured, so nothing :(
2 HR challenging road ride for Saturday and 2 hour recovery ride with standing starts on Sunday.
A quick run around the lake to get ready for a trail race.
2×12 hours of manual labor; removing and installing hardwood floor.
I did 6k recovery run
What was on my agenda was water walking after finally being cleared to exercise after surgery. What actually happened was a trip to the ER from a DVT that occurred as a result of the surgery. I would really appreciate winning the giveaway and changing my luck lately!
My training log has taken a nose dive as of late. Preparing exams to work in the public school system here in Madrid are taking up too much time. Still, I did manage a nice and easy long 18km run to shower my head from all the studying. Here’s hoping I can beat 1hr35min for the Alcalá de Henares half-marathon in March.
Spent the entire week on short interval sessions on the trainee because of brutal Pennsylvania weather conditions.
Saturday – 1.5 hours on the trainer with TrainerRoad.
Sunday – Family ski day.
I got back in the pool and swam (1000M) for the first time in about a year.
Just trying to keep the dad bod at bay with a 10 mile run on Saturday. Thanks Ray!
40 mins Fartlek Saturday
1hr steady run Sunday
Then undid all the good work with too much drinking Sunday night
This weekend i did a trail for 22,5km with 830m D+
Got most of my running miles in outdoors before the Polar Vortex hit. Manged a little over 20 miles in the Great White North.
Some light cycling, returning to cardio after some days off (brazilian carnival)…
Cross country race on Saturday followed by 19 mile LSR on Sunday
Had a marathon paced section of my long run. Nailed 10 miles at M-pace while tagging along with a group of faster dudes.
Actually no riding over the weekend, but Saturday got a manual catch-up Strava entry
Very cold but sunny 40km roadbike ride
Roughly 60 miles featuring rolling gravel roads and lots of mud on my road bike.
Running the last run of my 5K schedule and preparing for the 10K. Yeeeeehaaaa!
A lot of indoor training thanks to the sub-zero temps in Boston. Long ride on the trainer Saturday, swimming laps with my wife on Valentine’s Day, then a long run on the treadmill Monday. Spring can’t arrive here soon enough!
Saturday – 2h bike despite the snow
Sunday- core stability workout- planking in all variations because of my hernia:/
Saturday – climbing up an inactive volcano (le Puy de Dôme) in gale force winds
Sunday – 92km road cycling in gale force winds
Completed a 25-mile training ride, the second such training ride this year on my journey to completing an Ironman this year.
I’m training up for my first half marathon, so this week’s long is a 10-miler!
a few easy runs and some core training
Some indoor cycling saturday. And some mind training on sunday.
I have 3 basement training rides in the last week. Thank you Zwift for making them fun!
I had to take a month off of training after breaking a rib.
Back in the saddle this week!
You’ll probably be getting a few of these. I rode Stages 8 & 9 of the Sufferfest Tour of Sufferlandia using TrainerRoad.
50km ride
Weight session for my swim muscles!
Trainerroad sweet spot base workouts! 1.5hrs on Sat, 2 hrs in Sunday…
I went swimming with my daugher before a 1500m set, alternating with my husband while watching my child :)
Mt Donna Buang x 3, from home. The 216km and 4K vert weren’t too bad. Could have done without the mild heat stroke on the way home though.
Ran the austin half marathon
Easy run 7,5k