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.
Two trips to the indoor pool and dreadmill due to crappy weather. Time to get the new bike trainer setup so I never have to go through that again.
I ran my own 10k around my neighborhood, and used Strava to draw a heart!
5 mile tempo run
Saturday – 40 miles on the trainer at high power output followed by 8 mile low zone run. Sunday 2 hr on the trainer – Zwift, recovery ride.
Big weekend for me, 2hr bike with transition run on Saturday and 95 min aerobic run with recovery swim on Sunday! Lovin’ it!
Training was abysmal last week, with a funeral to attend and a lot of schoolwork. Ah well. $500 would cheer me up.
Started the mood for a nice 4 mile hike with my favorite training buddy, my Husband and our two pointer vizslas on Saturday up in Monserate Mountain, and followed by a Sunday HOT half century – pushing the POWWWWER ride then transitioned to an easy zone 2 5K run. Capped it off with protein shake to boot!
Trainerroad ride – base plan
Workout was 7 mile run on the treadmill….50-60 mph winds outside!
75,000 Vertical Feet of Alpine Skiing
I’m still relatively new to cycling. I did a couple of 20 mile bike rides over the weekend. It was great!
I went snowboarding with the family and fell asleep during Kungfu Panda 3.
Did some easy runs and yoga sessions to start my first half marathon training.
I ran 22 miles for my marathon training! (& played indoor soccer, if that counts.) :)
Not much. A walk a short ride but if Include Thurs and Monday about 140 miles cycling. Need to pick it up a little.
Thinking P! down payment with the $600!
A 12km run, then the afternoon in the garden… Sunday family day.
Saturday was a 2 mile treadmill run (training for a 5k), then Sunday was a nice long walk 2+ miles in the snow.
Excellent four days running along the water in Puerto Rico and didn’t feel bad at all that it snowed at home
I had a busy work week so I did 1 cycling Sufferfest workout (Do As Your Told), 1 running Sufferfest video (The Machine) and a 7 mile tempo treadmill run.
Last weekend I completed my first 6 mile training run since injuring my knee in August.
Ray, I appreciate you hard work in bringing our community the latest information on wearable technology.
Fat Bike ride in the woods. Hard ride with several friends. In Minnesota. Cold.
Enjoyed a nice 20 mile run around town with one of the local running clubs.
10 mile run on Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday.
Training runs (while 4 months pregnant!) was a 3 mi run on Friday and 5 mile run on Saturday. Sunday was off for date night.
Did five workouts over the weekend, which is more than usual, but most of them were kind of short. Saturday did 2200 yards of swimming and 35 minutes on the trainer with some hill grinds. Sunday did a one hour XC ski, then a 20 minute easy spin on the trainer and 35 minutes on the treadmill.
My weekend was the culmination of six months training for the Coast 2 Coast. Over Friday & Saturday I Ran, Paddled, and Cycled a cumulative 243km from New Zealand’s South Island West coast to the Easy Coast. This included Three cycle stages, two running stages, and a 67km kayak through some of New Zealand’s most spectacular scenery. Needless to say training is dialed back this week while I give my body some well deserved rest.
I’m doing a lifting program called StrongLifts 5×5 so I had five sets of five reps of back squats, bench press and rows. Did a quick 3 mile run too after which is about all the running you would want after heavy weight squats. Thanks for the giveaway Ray.
18000 + Steps, 100 + shovels full of gravel and 40 or so sledgehammer swings. Hey, its the off season. Cross training.
Well… both Saturday and Sunday were very cold (over -40 C!). So relegated to the trainer each day. Oh, and Tuesday brought a record snowfall of over 50cm.
saturday i ran 14 miles in 120 min at easy pace; sunday i ran 8 miles easy with the last 20 minutes at medium effort and below LT. two great runs – went to work tired on monday.
My training consisted of preparing for the third surgery on my foot! Arghhhh!
2300 yard swim and a 90 minute Z1 trainer ride.
Was on vacation with the family last weekend so a bit of time on the hotel treadmill, about as boring as one can get.
5k run on saturday and few hours on bike sunday.
Spent some time on the treadmill due to the fact it was 3 degrees outside. Not nearly enough degrees in my opinion.
Quick 8k treadmill run and some ski with the family!
A couple of sessions on the treadmill; trying to rehab a foot after shattering a heel in a fall last year.
Was on trainer for about an hour on Saturday plus Ab Ripper X afterwards. Then ran 3 miles on Sunday.
Closing out the tour of sufferlandria of course. With a side of swimming.
Sat: rode 45 miles to meet up with family for brunch. Sun: another 45 miles on the ‘world famous Nichols ride’ while dodging the LA marathon runners!
Weight work out at the gym, yoga, and 3.5 miles
Hi,
I am practicing to my first 10K run, so I did 9K run and I felt great!
Itamar
2x 4 mile run and a 35 mile bike
Last weekend included;
Saturday; Parkrun (5k free timed event) supposedly at ‘easy pace’ but come on.. who can do that on a 5k run!!
Sunday: 10k race prep run. ‘Marathon’ pace.. Whatever that means!
Working towards running 1/2 & full marathons and the like later on in the year and into next year so it all starts with working up endurance! Love learning about how to do it better!
I used Zwift on both Saturday and Sunday as it was very cold and snowy outside. Performed a VO2 max and FTP test on Saturday. On Sunday did a 2.5hr ride with some VO2 intervals mixed into an endurance ride.
Trainer Tuesday!
35 mile bike ride
This weekend was skiing – lots – with a 20pd backpack as I am training for the Canadian Ski Marathon this coming weekend. 160km over 2 days.
Spent the weekend recovering from helping at a youth group all-nighter event on the Fri-Sat. Do laser tag and bowling count as training?
7 hours on the trainer trying to get my fitness back after two bad accidents
Fri – 9 miles of pavement with the dog / 3×5 squat, 3×5 overhead press, 1×5 deadlift
Sat – 7 miles of pavement with the dog
Sun – rest!
Saturday I started my planned 3 hour bike ride. 90 min in had a 50 mph wind storm blow in. Had to find shelter from the dust behind a farmers building.
Sunday did a 1 mile swim and then a 1 hour run.
5 mile Heart Throb Race then off to coach my son’s basketball game.
Swam 4km, walked 55km. Currently injured so not running.
Ran the Buller Marathon, Slowly, very slowly.
Sat: 8.1 mile hike since it’s in the nice 80 degrees weather where I am
Sun: ran 1 mile on treadmill.. sunday is kick back relax day
Snowshoeing in MN.
I did a fat bike ride in loose snow with -6F temps. The conditions were not good, and my VIRB, iPhone, and Edge 500 batteries all succumbed to the cold long before I finished.
Nice 40 mile bike ride in the East Bay hills with my buddy Steve.
“Airport loop” around Auckland NZ, a relatively flat ride around the city.
5km parkrun.
Saturday morning: long run around Magnolia
Saturday pm: bike workout on the trainer watching the rain through the window
Sunday am: easy run through Discovery Park dodging OSU track team
Sunday pm: technique swim.
I wondered why there were so many super speedy runners passing me in the park. Geez.
P.S. I ran a loop in Discovery Park and down to the lighthouse as well, trying out my new orange Salomon trail shoes. Hope that qualifies for an entry!
Finally got a little climbing in even though I posted my slowest time in years.
ran a valentines day half marathon
saturday: 2h long run and 2h indoor cycling
sunday: 1h core strength and 30m indoor recovery ride
fun run with the kids.
A 52 mile training ride with my cycling group :-)
Sadly my workout log displays a total of zero workouts for last weekend, but on the plus side, I carried my 3 year old and 1 year old through Phuket airport, which surely counts as strength training? (The time from the cab to the other side of immigration and the gate lounge was over an hour)
It was minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit and very windy, so I did 4 miles on the treadmill.
Last weekend was special, oh so special. For the first time in last couple of decades I managed to pick up an illness, small man-flu with 39C fever, so the weekend saw me in my bed, covered in blankets. But nevertheless- still sweating :)
My training for last weekend consisted of well needed rest, after a long week. 5k walk along a beach was the most I did :)
It’s time for a brick workout!
90 minutes xc skis on Saturday and 45 mins workout on a trainer on Sunday
Tankwa Trek MTB Race South Africa. 3 day stages. 261 km 21 hours 5000m climbing.
A ride, several runs and a celebration of Valentine’s Day with a homemade Boeuf Bourguignon and Paris-Brest!
Saturday was a good 185km fondo with 3000m elevation gain. Unfortunately, when finishing (literally with 1km to go) rain starting pouring. Sunday was supposed to be interval training, but my shows we’re soaking wet. Need an extra pair to avoid that situation repeating itself!
Saturday was the favorite 40 miler with 20 miles into the headwind, up hill and the return trip downhill with tailwind….riding like a rockstar.
Sunday: 9 mile progression run.
A 5k parkrun on Saturday morning (fun), followed on Sunday morning with a most unlucky ride (three flat tires) and a taxi home, and then (once I had replaced the tube) a quick blast up the nearest hill to complete my planned TSS.
Thanks for the site.
Anyo Charity Run 10k for children’s cancer fundraising, here in Tangerang, Indonesia. I had a cold but also managed to have a great time. It’s nice to see more and more Indonesians exercising, not something that is common in a place you get weird looks just for walking down the street.
6mi w/ 5,000m tempo on the track on Saturday, 17mile long run on Sunday.
2 hours on the trainer and a quick run. Thanks for the contest!
Saturday long ride; Sunday long run including 10 x 400 on the track.
Thanks for offering this giveaway, and congrats on your great news! In a similar vein, my workouts this past weekend involved walking uphill with the new stroller (and the new little guy inside).
We picked up a new Thule Chinook 2 and got my entire family out on multiple bike rides! Even the 5 month old went on our family workout!
I did the 2016 Tour of Sufferlandria so it was 2 hours of intervals both Saturday and Sunday.
Crossfit – Metcon (Time)
For time:
800m Run
40 Deadlifts 80kg
30 Box Jumps @ 24/20″
20 Front Squats @ 60kg
I walked (rehabbing ankle) 4 miles.
Sun: 11k run
Tue: 5k run then Pyramid training up to 4 min then back down to 1
Thur: 8k run
All for what? My first 1/2 in May. Not just a 1/2 its the Great Ocean Road 23.5k hilly windy 1/2
Oh the Pain Oh the fun :)
Sat:Cycled out to watch a trail race I wanted to run (injured). Sunday: after sleeping in… cycled an easy 30km and in the afternoon did my longest run (10km) in 3 months!
Nadda. Kids did a tri. Does that count?
Saturday 2 hour endurance ride with climbing. Sunday stretching and core work.
30 miles of running over 4 days. 3.5 hours of biking including 2 FTP sessions and one VO 2 session and 2 swims of about 1 Mile.
I am preparing for a duatlon, so running 9k Saturday and biking 40k on Sunday (cyclocross) – and trying to get my weight down :-)
Barre with physique 57 on Saturday, and barre with Pure Yoga on Sunday. It was way too cold to run outside.
3 x weight sessions
A couple of hard 40 minute sessions in Zwift
2 x 50km rides on my new bike!!!
I didn’t feel like going out in the cold but found some fun YouTube workout videos. I might have to exercise at home more often.
Active recovery from a HIIT birthday celebration. :) Yes, I was born on Friday the 13th..
Finally enjoying some decent weather in New England, warmed up with a a 5k and did 20 miles on the bike the next day after a long break.
Racing uphill and downhill and uphill and downhill in the rain at VertFest 2016!
Preparing the Madrid half marathon, so intervals on saturday, 15k on sunday, and couple more days of running
Was stuck on the indoor trainer, as it was heavily snowing and did some intervalls while web browsing.