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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
Tag Archives: Training
New positions early in the morning
The weekend’s training schedule ended up getting swapped around quite a bit at the last minute, which, afforded me the time to spend some quality time at Coach Alan’s place re-working my bike fit. After the Bumpass in Rumpass Olympic … Read More Here
Averting disaster in the Dark Hills
Anytime you have 2-3 hours of workouts to do on a weeknight, you have to plan a bit. Most of that planning for me falls into two buckets – scheduling of the actual workout itself, and scheduling my caloric intake … Read More Here
A meaty weekend
This weekend was full of all assortment of activities – from the usual swim/bike/run to cooking up a storm on Saturday night. We start with a 10 mile run on Saturday morning along the Potomac river on the Mt. Vernon … Read More Here
Troubleshooting your heart rate monitor/strap HR spikes
For those who train with heart rate monitors often, you probably know all too well know the tell-tale sign that your little device is lying to you about your heart rate. It starts off fairly innocently with a gentle rise … Read More Here
Little Washington
The weekend started Friday after a nice flight back from the West Coast. Upon arriving home I found all sorts of packages had arrived. While some weren’t terribly exciting (new seat post for an older bike), I did get one … Read More Here
A week of training in Seattle
After a pretty darn successful Sunday race in the Rainman Triathlon, I got back to work – and training on Monday. That included a relatively straightforward swim of a tad over 3,000 yards. One interesting thing is there are far … Read More Here
Corned Beef, Pools, and Cupcakes (though, not all together)
The weekend started like any good weekend should – with cupcakes being made. The Girl was back at it after her adventures to the NYC’s Magnolia bakery, making loads of cupcakes. Though, the Girl’s were far better – plus, they … Read More Here
Pool and Parking lot bricks
With my first race of the year this weekend and my first triathlon of the year next week, things have kicked into short and fast mode for the next two weeks. As races approach my workouts tend to drift more … Read More Here
Time Trialing with the subway
Sunday night after I got home from New York City around 5PM I still had one minor item left to knock out…a 2hr and 45 minute ride. Now, I could do this indoor on the trainer – but I’m sick … Read More Here
Welcome back to reality
Upon landing at Dulles International Airport on Sunday afternoon my very first message that showed up on my phone was from my coach, it read: Gee…thanks. And reality soon set in. I knocked out a rather enjoyable trainer ride on … Read More Here
Sports Tracks in depth – ten little tidbits
Most of you folks know I love Sports Tracks – I think it’s hands down the best and most comprehensive sports activity management application out there today. (The above uses the Power Analysis Plug-in) Of course, making it better is … Read More Here
A warm fall
After returning from Austin mid-last week, I’ve been in a fairly easy training mode. Though, Saturday had a fair bit of pop to it with respect to workouts. It started off with a 1hr wetsuit swim, as has been usual … Read More Here
Texas Training Extravaganza
I’ve been down here in Austin, TX since last Friday – but that doesn’t mean my training stops. Nope, it just changes scenery. On Saturday (the day before Longhorn 70.3 that I was cheering at), I went out and basically … Read More Here
Three sports…one training day
The day was labeled “Race Simulation” on my training calendar. And had it been a nice summer day with birds chirping, it might have been just dandy. But in reality, here’s what it looked like: Given the weather forecast was … Read More Here
4 Hours
It’s funny, if you take a four hour workout and put it on a weekend, it really doesn’t seem so bad. Say from 9AM to 1PM – you’re done around lunch time, and you have the remainder of the day … Read More Here
The long..long road ahead
While the ride was technically scheduled at 118 miles – just two miles short of my all-time 120 mile high, the weather conditions forecasted made it clear it was going to be a long…long ride. Despite temperatures into the rather … Read More Here
Cycling and cupcakes
This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, sorta like the time-lapse video I put together. Saturday morning was spent trying to catch up on sleep before heading down to Prince William Forest National Park to get in a solid … Read More Here
2009 Chesapeake Man Aqua-Velo Race Report
The Chesapeake Man Ultra Triathlon is essentially a Ironman Distance Triathlon, but because World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) owns the naming rights to “Ironman”, these non-M-Dot races (referring to the logo of the M with a dot) are usually called something … Read More Here
Many, many, many miles of Cornfields
When I received my schedule earlier this week for the next few weeks, this little nugget was in the e-mail body: I thought to myself…hmm, what is this ‘Queenstown 120’ he speaks of. I have no such race by that … Read More Here
The final stretch
With this past weekend in the books, everything ‘long’ is now over. No more long runs, nor long Skyline rides. Though, that didn’t mean things were all strawberries and peaches this past weekend in the workout world. Saturday I had … Read More Here
A Power Primer – Cycling with Power 101
If you watched any of the Tour de France this summer, you probably heard the commentators and on screen graphics showing ‘Watts’, and if you went ‘What?” – this this post is for you. As part of laying the groundwork … Read More Here
Yogi, more Yogi, and Boo-boo
It’s been quite busy over the last week, with being just on the edge of full taper for Ironman, you think you have more spare time to do other random things than you really do. I think mentally I’m expecting … Read More Here
Night Rider
Most times for my weekly track brick I tend to manage to get to the track in the 4-5PM hour, thus having me finished with my workout some two hours later in the 7PM range. This makes for a semi-normal … Read More Here
The Almost Half-Iron
Just a quick training update (see, I can be quick on occasion). Yesterday I did a nice brick in the mountains, starting from Luray. Luray is a town in the shadow of Skyline drive, where I usually do my long … Read More Here
It’s getting hot in here
The good news is that I didn’t have to run. The bad news is I still had to bike…on the trainer…without a fan…indoors. And thus was the start to my birthday, a nice 65 minute trainer ride on little red … Read More Here