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.
saturday last day of training week in sunny spain bike ride with intervals and the end.
My run plans were curtailed by -17 degree weather in the White Mountains all weekend. Instead I chased 3 grandkids around the house for 3 days!!
Two days of Nordic skiing, including my last long one before the Birkie. This’ll make a solid finisher prize.
Going to the gym since I’m nursing some lower leg injuries.
My normal Saturday block of indoor cycling and strength training, then an easy spin on Sunday.
Did more flat on the bike than hills so as to let my back recover. Still did 3k of climbing tho!
Crossfit Saturday morning and Snowboarding on Monday. Getting the most out of my Fenix 3.
Last week was the third week in my Paris Marathon training planning.
So Tuesday begins with 55 of cycling (RPM) then Wednesday follows with 8 x (2’/1′) 90% VMA then Saturday 11.5km at fondamental speed and to finish Sunday long run with 18km in 1h30 ;-) could be nice to be lucky for once ;-) thx Ray
It was a pretty busy weekend for me!
Friday: 11 km of running
Saturday: Played badminton for one hour with my kids and spent another hour at the gym
Sunday: Skiing for four hours and one hour spinning
2 hours of turbo training and a 10k slow run.
Some tempo runs and a half marathon on saturday, training for a long distance duathlon in march.
Was at a convention this weekend in freezing cold so did spin bike in hotel gym both days for an hour then hit the weights to build my core back up from a lax winter.
Strength training with my husband – recovering from hip surgery!
Had a 10k cross country skiing exercise.
Saturday indoor cycling class, Sunday training run.
Couple of short 1 mile runs due to knee issues. Testing out different incline and speed on the treadmill to see what works. No luck-get to .95 to 1 and sharp pain. Gotta keep trying since MRI show’s nada for this problem.
I was going to do a nice 60k ride with a fast group but I got food poisoning on Friday so I just chased the ginger bread man if you know what i mean :(
I was in Colorado for a ski trip, but I decided to add to my quad soreness with a quick 3 mile run early Sunday. In true Colorado fashion it was 15 degrees out and there was 400 feet of elevation gain over the 3 miles!
Nothing on my log. Still recovering from knee injury / meniscus surgery so I have to keep it calm.
Hopefully soon will be able to get back to logging some KM :)
Saturday was resting day so only did a 15 km bike ride and a 90 minute walk with the dog.
Sunday was supposed to be a half marathon day, but due to sudden heavy snow it ended up being a 10 km walk (again with the dog).
Great weekend though.
40 Mile group ride and 10 mile solo run!!!
It was a fun one! Wed night hills, Friday 6K steady, Sunday’s LSD changed from 27K to 9K because it was -40C, then 15K Monday, then snowshoeing Tuesday (yesterday) because we got 50 cm of snow so running was not possible. Does shoveling the driveway 6 times count?
10k trail run through the woods …
Saturday was a duathlon race, Sunday was rest.
30min tempo run, 40min intervals, 20min hill sprints, 5mile easy run
8km @ 4.30min/km
I took my daughter for a hike in her new back carrier
Ran 24 km at a 5’30 /km with 550 D+ in the vineyards in the south of Reims. Great tracks with a high potentiel of beautiful landscapes for the next spring and summer!
I would like to say that I did a lot but I didn’t. I was sick with a cold. I’m better now and have some training rides plained this week.
A simple weekend for sure. Just a LSR Saturday morning.
Was sick last week so I ran 5 km on Sunday only to start slowly.
Not training right now… Sick. Mix of easy running, yoga, and one trip to the pool. Excited to start training for first tri of the year and metric century bike ride soon!
2h endurance ride and 1h15 aerobic intervals
Last weekend was national rowing trials. Followed by a relaxed cafe ride on the Sunday :)
Saturday was an hour of kickboxing.
Monday was a hilly 1.5 hr. trail run and a 45 min. spin on the mountain bike.
Slowly building up in my half iron plan so a 1:15 /0:15 brick on Saturday followed by a brutally hilly hour run on Hampstead Heath on Sunday, rounded off by three pints watching the Six Nations.
Still recovering from a broken clavicle and now also sick, so no serious training. My new Garmin 235 has been relegated to a glorified step counter.
Just a breakfast in bed
just 16km along the river !
Saturday post SFO-DXB 30 minutes jog on the hotel treadmill – equated to 8 miles on zwift and reminded me why I hate running
Sunday 90 minutes on the hotel stationary bike – 30 miles on zwift
A long run and swim drills!
50km bike ride on Saturday.
Enjoyed a nice cycle in overcast conditions after a few scorching days in the week.
Unfortunately I am lying low with a cold right now, thus no running outside for me ??
A sufferfest bike trainer workout with some light leg and back exercises afterwards.
Still slowly returning from a devastating injury last fall… last weekend’s “long” run of 7.5 miles was the latest step in the right direction!
90 minute sweet spot trainer session Friday. Cross training Saturday.
Long TrainerRoad ride on Saturday and an easy three miles on Sunday. Monday (long weekend in the US!) was spent curled up on the couch hiding from the snow.
I did a 2km swim, ate a bacon wrapped pizza and a box of the new thin oreo cookies soooo good!!
I started Saturday morning by taking my sons out of the house for a short swim at the local Y, letting the wife sleep in. Celebrated Valentine’s that night with dinner and movie (We might have been the last people on Earth to see Star Wars). Followed that up with a “Sweetheart 8k” run with my honey Sunday morning.
I wonder…Do activities after the dinner and movie count?
Oh yeah, hill repeats with my mates from the tri club. Never get’s old.
Two trail runs with the dogs, post chest infection. Soon get the mileage back up!
15.5 mile training run. I am totally excited for a 25k trail run next weekend and hoping for my first ultra this fall!!!
A 10m road race with a new p.b!!! :)
Did 6×800 with 1:1 rest, in 2:30-2:35
Ran a 5 miler on the coldest Valentine’s Day in New England on record!
Running before my niece’s b-day
3.5hrs+ endurance ride with Z4/Z5 efforts on hills.
The weekend started off with a productive 90min spinning class on Monday, which ended with a small “sweat lake” under my bike.
Tuesday break, and Wednesday off to the Austrian Alps. Thursday and Friday nice walks & small runs up the hills on icy roads. Saturday and Sunday it was a beautiful weather and on each day 4hours of intense downhill skiing. I know, not the triathlon training per say. But it was intense and those black slopes killed my legs :-) Feel like I can gear up on the bike now…
Trying to use the rest of the winter in our lovely Alps before we start off the spring climbs on the bike.. ouch, hurts already! :-)
Hi Ray, I did a 2k swim and a 90min run, hope the good weather is coming cause i was freezing! Andras
Hi DC Rainmaker,
Besides my 10 miles daily bike commute, I have logged my first outdoor training ride of 2016 with a zone 3-4 HR 30 km distance. I have then stretched and did a gentle weight session (arm mainly).
cheers
10 mile hike followed by a 10k run.
Nearly 45 minutes of swimming and 1 hour on my old home trainer.
This weekend a frozen tundra in New England. Spent Saturday cyclying (WU: 40′ @ 50-60% FTP/z1 with 3 x 1′ @ FTP/z5 mixed in the last 10′ MS: 60′ all steady @ 75% FTP/z2 CD: 5′ @ 50-55% FTP/z1) with a ROTB.
Sunday was a long and dreadful treadmill run because of sub-arctic conditions.
I did a quick interval session on my tacx on satyrday. My sunday van best be described as a lazy one.
Pre-rode a race course on Saturday and got in a long endurance ride on Sunday.
Saturday was parkrunday (flat out 5K) with a 3K warmup/cool down from home and Sunday was a nice and slow 10K
Saturday- running hill intervals. Sunday- 5k run outside.
An easy 10k on Saturday and on Sunday 15k of the most beautiful coastline trails.
Riding the mountains here in Gran Canaria! Training camp time!
Fighting flu all week long :-(
2 – 4 mile runs with the kiddo. Very Very Slow. Way Way out of shape…
Training for last weekend (what I was supposed to do):
Saturday: 2 hour bike ride with 2×15 tempo
Sunday: 1 hour bike ride at 170-180 W followed by a hard run.
What I actually did: lie around in bed and cough. I caught a nasty virus and am only now beginning to recover.
Kickboxing class Saturday with my Valentine and then a 6-mile, calf-and-lung-busting trail run on Presidents Day.
The planning was:
First a swim of 3k and afterwards to ride my mtb on saturday
On sunday a 15k running in the woods on hilly terrain.
After the swim, i felt really sick and the rest of the weekend i had to spent in the couch? ??????
Sunday bike rides (5 mi + 5mi) with a 1 hour squash match in between.
Thank Ray!
unfortunately cold and snowy/ice weather meant a couple of trainer sessions and a short 3 mi run outside over the weekend. Temps are improving and more outdoor sessions soon!
Did a run with a friend, coaching her towards her first 10k in April. Gonna be fun!
Trainerroad Centennial workout on Saturday, mountain biking on Sunday, Endurance
Leg workouts to get back on track with training
30k long run for marathon training, hard going!
Snorkeling in Maldives on vacation
The flu didn’t allow me training! I hope this weekend will be different!
Easy bike ride at jut 3 C temp followed by an easy swim session as I cannot do anything else with my injured feet while snowboarding a week ago ;>
Saturday was a 15k MTB through the local state forest and Sunday was a 14km long run.
Although I didn’t do either of them. My wife was away so I got to spend valuable time with my 5 and 3 yo’s!! There’s always next weekend to train! :)
A nice church basketball game
Saturday a 12km run, sunday a very cold and wet 11 city winter bike tour 200km
Had a great 15 km cross country ski, despite bad weather and recovering from a cold. The reason was great new skis! Now I only need some technology to go with them!
I got in only two shorter runs, also tried to squeeze in more core work and general strength workouts.
And chasing my 2-year-old little girl around the block a lot :)
I had a 10 mile easy pace recovery run on Saturday and a gorgeous 8 mile hike climbing to the Devil’s Chair in the Angeles National Forest on Sunday. Not sure if a hike really counts as “Training,” but it felt like it.
I had a sick kid at home so I went with a spin in the garage :)
A half marathon! Tough early season fitness test!
A local Parkrun 5km run on Saturday morning and a scenic 50km around the Surrey hills on Sunday
Just riding some miles to get ready for long summer rides, 30 hilly miles!
Hit a PB in back squats of 3x5x250lbs. Also climbed a 5.10- in the gym, the first since busting up my shoulder and elbow last summer.
WattBike Intervals, mountain biking and an easy road ride with the girlfriend
Taking office group for lunch runs for upcoming corporate 5k!
I was enjoying a recovery run from my 25km race the week before, and supporting my wife at the same time with my presence.
Last week end was the Odlo Race 10k in Paris – that replaced all the training :)
If I win – that will create some nice dilemma !
Last weekend was a bit of a right off, I walked my dogs and that was about it.