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.
Yoga, treadmill running, and tri bike on the trainer
Ran the Surf City Marathon Febuary 7th then the LA Marathon the following Sunday (Valentines Day). Rolled my foot over a water bottle at the start but hobbled to finish. No PR but that’s OK
I had a 80 minute long run on Saturday and a 2 hour long bike on the trainer (since it was in the low 30s!) on Sunday. Unfortunately I managed to miss the hours the Y was open on Saturday so I ended up doing the run on Sunday and the bike on Monday.
Easy ride with friends, just a few k. Lovely walk in sunshine with wife. Takign it easy because of injured back.
16 mile long run: 3 miles easy, 10 @ marathon pace, 3 miles easy
I did a 4×20 minute erg session. After that I took a pretty long nap which was pretty dope.
Three hour Kickr trainer ride on Saturday. Love Zwift! Thank you for reviewing the software. Sunday was an 11 mile run.
1 hour run in the cold at night and a 1:40 brick in the colder afternoon. Come on spring!!!
Nothing less than 40km of XC classic skiing at -25°C on saturday and 1.5 hour of trainer sunday (it was too cold outside…).
Saturday – 5 mile recovery run + arm/chest weights
Sunday – 16 mile run
three times a week on a trainer
1 hr bike, 5 mile run; 2 hr bike, 2 mile run
ran 9 miles on Saturday and 16 on Sunday, all on the treadmill. I can’t wait for it to warm up.
I’ve only done a 30 minutes trainer session in my living room.
I did my usual routine of wed, fri,sat spin with tue, thurs, sun yoga. Also body weight workout on sat.
A “long” aerobic run on Saturday followed by a vasa-aerobic bike brick on Sunday.
Trying to maintain typical weekly mileage – slid back a bit in -2 degree weather. Ice buildup on my glasses and elsewhere!
Recuperation weekend. Nada on Saturday. One hour of yoga on Sunday.
Spent two hours juggling between power zones two and three on Saturday followed by two and half of easy cruising Sunday.
This is my down time. Letting injuries and aches heal in between winter workouts and spring running.
Ran my first 5k since I can’t hold the bars on the trainer with a sprained thumb!
Group ride on Saturday followed by a nice day off on Sunday.
Last week’s training included workouts for the Shamrock Half and an easy 4 mile hike for some extra outdoor fun!
Did some transition practice followed by a 2h aerobic ride.
Sat: 8k trail run
Sun: 1 hr snowshoeing
Tobogganing for bonus!
Monday after work a 50k hill work cycle
Tuesday a 1.5k swim in Lake Taupo a large fresh water lake in New Zealand
Wednesday a 65k flat cycle testing out my new Garmin Vario radar I purchased after reading your review. This is one of the best cycle accessories I’ve purchased.
Thursday playing tennis with my 10 year old son
Friday rest day
Saturday a 70k morning ride and a 7k run with my son in the late afternoon.
I ran a 5K couples relay with my girlfriend in sub zero wind chills on Saturday. Sunday was an easy run, but still brutally cold.
Time on the trainer weights, and in the pool mastering flip turns…
1.5 hours of indoors cycling targeting base training and 6KM skate skiing.
10 miles at marathon goal pace(6:52). Followed by a 15 miler to shake the legs out.
Friday was speed training with sprints, Saturday was a Vakentine 10k, Sunday was my day of rest :)
14 miles split into 7 freezing miles on Friday and 7 freezing and snowy miles on Saturday.
Saturday I ran 11 miles and Sunday I did 25 miles on the bike.
Saturday was a long run in chilly weather!! Below -30C! Brrrrrrr. I used Sunday as a warm up day.
Lots of trainer rides.
My normal daily 5 mile fitness walk both Saturday and Sunday.
9 miles on the treadmill. Would have preferred to be outside but the weather was not cooperating.
Long aerobic run on Saturday and 1.5 hrs on the trainer sunday.
Some low intensity couch training while recovering from a minor foot injury.
My training log consisted of carrying my two year old in one arm and a sled in the other, up the hill about 50 times. Still better than a trainer session in the basement.
10k trail run through the snow covered woods. Awesome, but I got lost. Not awesome.
Two trainer workouts and a weight session at the gym.
Friday – six mile run with three miles at tempo pace in the middle. Saturday – one hour on the rowing machine. Sunday – twenty mile run.
Saturday was an easy day inside on the trainer and Sunday was a gym workout. And, Monday it didn’t rain — much — in Seattle!
I have been using Zwift even though the weather has been beautiful (family duties making it tough to ride in the afternoon). Last week I finished week 6 of their FTP 12 week builder. This week I am going back to running.
I did a bike ride on Sat, first in a long time. Then Sun a run with the pup. Pup didn’t log his run though, just me
A steady 160 km of cycling around town.
Absolutely freezing here last week, so just a quick 5 mile run.
I went for my first run in 2 years. 2.5 miles. Didn’t feel too bad!
Continuing my ride every day of 2016 plan ( stationary bikes included)….
Good weekend of training
Saturday AM – Easy-pace 10km run, PM – Strength exercises
Sunday AM – Long run 80mins on trails, PM – Foam roll
XCM Race
Traveling and bad weather prevented anything but a short run.
Long but moderate cardio.
TrainerRoad both days! Since it was 20 degrees both days and I don’t get paid enough to ride outside in that cold weather. TrainerRoad did crash though both days which sucked, but I prevailed!
skipped my Workout on Sunday due to Snow… :/
hour and a half sweetspot on the trainer 1 hour in the pool…. 3 hours rehydrating while watching the NBA allstar game.
Multiple barre classes, and a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood.
Outside on the bike again finally. Zwift is great but a change of pace on the sunny road was sweet too.
2500 yards and 5 mile run on Saturday, 105 minute trainer ride Sunday, and almost 8 miles of hills on Monday.
Back to back long runs and some bike rides!
10k, rest and love. Not necessarily in that order.
I started running on a new trail in 70 degree weather in Texas. Sorry East Coast :(
Friday – 3k swim and 1:15 bike
Saturday – 1:45 run
Sunday – core workout
19.2k at 6:05 pace. Felt good, a little fastee than planned.
A nice and sweet 45min swift ride
Started my regimen with indoor cycling in preparation for spring. This year I am giving Zwift a chance to shake off my winter cob webs.
I had 2:30 ride, 2000m swim and skipped my run.
I’m trying not to overdo a knee with Patellar Tendinitis (Runner’s Knee) so I only did a simple 5k run with my running group. (they did 10k, I just broke out early).
Ran 6 miles in the morning, and hit the trainer in the afternoon. Looking forward to warmer weather to take the bike outside.
Saturday, I did my longest run this year, 11.2 in training for a half marathon in March. Sunday I ran around and doing errands.
5.5 hours on the bike over the two days; one hilly and one flat. And Coffee. And bacon.
It was -10F last weekend and I was working, so I had to keep the workout indoors. 30 minutes on the rower and 30 on the treadmill.
Nothing! It was -38 including chill factor so decided it was my break week-end. But now back to business. (BTW, the Fenix 3 link is dead)
16 VERY long miles on the treadmill!
I took a 46 mile ride into the Willamette Valley. Half dry/half in the rain, but then I live in the Pacific Northwest! It was a good day.
I’m getting back into shape after having a baby, so a short and easy (yet so difficult!) run was on my schedule last weekend.
Glorious rest after getting back from a training camp :)
Saturday 50 mile on my bike, sunday 9 mile run and 30 miles on my bike
Mountain bike ride for an hour
6 mile pace run on Saturday, and a12 mile general aerobic run on Sunday.
Recovering from hills reps in 35 °C heat (just under 100 °F in your language) with some slow runs.
Two rides on the trainer inn Zwift
Went for a 80km light spin on saturday, raced the SKCC crits on Sunday.
Commuting on a gravel bike 45 miles each day in Chicago. February is such a treat for that. Topped the week off with my first fat bike race on Sunday. 14 degrees. Suffered like a pig.
First, started with a P90x3 video for core and general strength training. Then, hoped on the trainer for some TrainerRoad goodness!
A little time on the bike, a little time with the weights, a lot of chocolate…..
Nice 30km bike followed by a 1km run. I’ll be able to run further on that ankle one day!
5 miles on treadmill (below zero wind chills in Michigan) and 1800 meters in pool.
I made my first 100km on Zwift, and under 3 hours :-)
Just an easy 6 miler on Saturday and Sunday.
I ran a half marathon. Starting temperature was 17 degrees F. I was still able to PR nearly 5 minutes faster than my previous half.
Runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Should have ran again this morning but wine won :)
Enjoying the nicer winter weather with no wind for some outdoor riding and running. Glad to be off the trainer and treadmill.
Sufferfest Day 8 & 9, about 4 hours of training on my Kicker at insane power levels…
A spin on the trainer and then cleaning pens.
The last 2 stages of the Tour of Sufferlandia
Rode to and from work from Monday till Friday at 25k each way.
1.5 hour ride with 3×10 in the sweet spot on Saturday. Valentines Day 13.1 (1:16:17 for 15th overall)
Just a lot of walking around!