name: Karen, Email Specialist, Vancouver
studio found: Delight Yoga
class found: vinyasa flow
instructor found: Fleur Van Zonneveld

After almost a week of being in Amsterdam, I was still struggling to differentiate between all the straats and the grachts, and then I decided I wanted to find yoga.– I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t super optimistic that this would happen in such a cycling-dominated city.

I went in fully prepared to yoga in Dutch, hoping ‘downward dog’ is the same in both languages but luckily, when class started, so did the English. The instructor was wearing a floral jumpsuit and the studio was beautiful because the windows let in so much natural light.

I chose to go to Delight Yoga’s vinyasa flow class because it fit into my schedule that day, but I later learned that yoga early in the morning isn’t that popular in Amsterdam, and the class only had four people in it!

Download the om finder app to find yoga wherever you are in the world. Each month in the Found series we’ll be featuring an experience that came to be because of the app. Want to contribute? Tell us what you found at blogcontributors@lululemon.com or share using #omfinder.

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We had a nice welcome party in La Jolla from the lululemon team. We really enjoyed the evening before the big race started.

We had big goals for this race with the favourite, Tejay van Garderen.

The last training before the race started in San Diego. I was in such a good shape that I even was too fast for this cop. Luckily he let me go after a long discussion.

Our world champion, Philippe Gilbert, carried many bananas for us. He left us early in the race for a nice reason. His wife had a baby on Friday.

Here I found my American love - this dog just wanted to kiss (Look at the passion in his eyes). I heard afterwards that he's a big BMC fan.

I raced my time trial in a very aerodynamic position but I went easy to save my energy for the coming days. Because Tejay van Garderen rode into the lead during this time trial, which means a lot of work for me to defend the yellow jersey.

I snuck the camera in the race to get a picture when the peloton crosses the Golden Gate Bridge. It was our last day of racing and a great experience to go over this bridge on the bike. The commissaires almost took me out of the race because I'm not actually allowed to take a camera in the race.

Me posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. I really like San Francisco and I want to come back here for a holiday.

Big celebration for the whole BMC Racing Team. It is always nice to have everyone on the podium because cycling is a team sport. We won the teams classification and the individual with Tejay van Garderen.

This year, it starts in Escondido, and travels north over the week and finishes in Santa Rosa. Each day is intense, With over four hours of intense racing over some of California's most beautiful (and challenging) terrain, the riders will cover roughly 650 miles over the seven days.

To help our friends at BMC Race Team, with riders from Belgium, Norway, USA, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Germany, prepare for the daunting week ahead, we held a kickoff party this week at our La Jolla store in San Diego.  Unlike the typical fiesta, it was hold the tequila but full speed ahead on the sombreros and of course, a pinata.

l-r: Philippe Gilbert (Belgium), Amael Moinard (France), Michael Schaer (Switzerland), Mattias Frank (Switzerland)

But it's not all fun and games for the team - they're well-trained, ready to roll, and have been practicing yoga at their training camps earlier this year taught by lululemon ambassador Ted McDonald from Malibu.

If you want to follow BMC and their fortunes this week and beyond, head over to www.bmcracingteam.com.  Live daily coverage of the race is also available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com (their app is one of our favorites for watching live sport).

Brand Manager, blogger extraordinaire and fast runner (1:48 half marathons....whoa!) Kelsey has decided to switch gears and volunteer at this year's SeaWheeze. Here's why she's doin' what she's doin'.

There is nothing quite like crossing a finish line. All that hard work: the training, the mental preparation, the ice baths (ugh!) and the commitment to push yourself each and every day comes down to, in my case, one hour and fifty one minutes. It’s exhilarating, exhausting, immensely addictive and over before you know it (well, except for that last 2km).

It’s too hard to say what the best part of last year’s SeaWheeze was: training with our super dedicated run club, the excitement in the air before the race, seeing people I knew (and more importantly those I didn’t) cheering me on or partying it up after the race with all the other runners.

When registration came around for SeaWheeze 2013 I was pretty close to signing up again, but knowing how I felt seeing all those people cheering for each and every runner (and maybe some not-so-distant memories of interval training) I decided that this year I wanted to support other people in reaching their goals. Training will help you run the race but the support from the people around you is what gets you to the finish line.

So this SeaWheeze I’m volunteering. I cannot wait to see the race from the other side: to cheer at the top of my lungs, high-five those crossing the finish line and celebrate all the badass accomplishment that I know is coming.

We’ve got some awesome opportunities where you can get involved:

power to the pick-up

when: On Friday (day before the race)

what: Help our runners get their gear bag, timing chip and wristband

must-bring: your best smile and stellar small talk skills

check it, please!

when: Early Saturday morning

what: Help runners raring to go check their gear at the course before they head to the starting line

must-bring: ample energy and a friendly face

hand out some help

when: During the race

what: Keep our runners hydrated by handing out much-needed H2O and show ‘em some love to keep them going strong

must-bring: strong arms (you’re going to be handing out a lot of water!) and your loudest cheer voice

If you want to join me (and loads of other smiling, shining, helpful people) volunteer sign-up opens at 12pm on May 15^th on the SeaWheeze site. Email volunteer@seawheeze.com if you've got any questions! See you on the seawall.

We’re always taught that if we want to achieve our goals we have to put them out there. So what happens when you publicize your Biggest, Hairiest, most Audacious goal, in a Big Hairy Audacious way and fail?

At 14 my BHAG was born. I wanted to work for Ellen Degeneres. I still do. This is a dream that, up until recently, I've kept as just that, a dream, where it's safe from the reality of disappointment and failure. Many decisions in my life (temporarily moving to LA, going to film school, copying Ellen’s hairstyle) were actually based on that goal. Well, maybe not the hair thing.

In November of 2012, I was feeling down about my future and unsure of my career path, and decided it was time to make my biggest dream come true. Does that sound cheesy? Maybe, but that’s how goals work. I came up with a great idea for a video get Ellen’s attention. I used my mad producing skills to contact former Ellen guests, and with them making cameos in my video, I would (attempt to) write Ellen a song, (attempt to) create a viral video, and (attempt to) learn to dance, just like they did. I was pretty proud of it.

On December 18th 2012 I posted it. In the first hours, it got 1000 views - not "viral" but for a painfully earnest, nine-minute video about me, I was flabbergasted! People were messaging me, texting me, and I had over 60 Facebook friends posting it on their walls, sharing it with The Ellen Show on Facebook and Twitter! I couldn't believe the sense of community I felt within my little social media world.

At lululemon, one of the ways we learn to make our goals come to life is by visualizing them coming true. I was able to convince myself that I hadn’t heard anything back because her show took a holiday hiatus over Christmas. Friends would assure me I’d be hearing from them soon. I’d have moments where I’d let the possibility of nothing happening slip in, but would quickly remind myself that something had to happen.

Every time I felt like moving on, another Ellen fan or dreamer would reach out to me saying how much my video meant to them, and it would push me to keep trying. I just wasn’t ready to give up, which was a very bittersweet feeling. Half of me was already feeling emotionally exhausted, like a failure, while the other half was pushing me to keep reaching out and hoping the right person would see it at the right time.

My video now has over 5500 views, but as nice as that is, I’m not anywhere closer to my goal. I realized I had to step off my cloud, at least for now. There were a few days, even weeks that it really hurt, and I stopped watching Ellen...because when I did, I’d see other guests she found on YouTube and I felt somehow spurned.  I felt embarrassed when every friend I'd run into would bring it up, "have you heard from Ellen? You're SO going to!" Even though it was my BHAG, I’d felt like I had disappointed everyone else. Everyone had been so supportive and so confident in me, which left me feeling like I had let everyone down.

I was so confident that something was going to happen, I genuinely wasn't prepared for it not to.

Not every goal is publicized the way mine was. Setting a goal to read a certain number of books, or saving enough money for a big vacation are things that are done, for the most part, in solitude. A little positive self-talk and it’s easy to brush those off if you don’t succeed, but when your 1500 Facebook friends know about you dream, it’s a different story. Especially when the video is so you - it wasn’t my cooking that failed, or my writing, it was just me being me that failed.

but wait! silver linings are pretty cool, too.

Upon reflecting on my Ellen journey,  I realized that it was actually awesome. I’d be pretty self-centered if I didn’t realize the support I got from friends and acquaintances. And while it’s easy to be disappointed that not enough people helped, whatever that means, or be embarrassed by the large audience of my failure, I also realized that the greater the community that comes together, the greater the reward will be when I do succeed. I’m not talking about attention, or even fame. I mean that success grows when it’s shared. And I can’t wait to share it.

Things are better now. I’ve spent time thinking alone, watching TED talks (thank you Regina Dugan and Brené Brown) and talking with the people who know me best. I got all my crying out, and I’m back to (mostly) finding joy again watching Ellen. People still tell me they think of me while they watch her show, which I've got to admit is pretty cool. I’ve learned that I’d rather my identity be so wrapped up in my BHAG that it’s the first thing people think of when they think of me, than to never have tried. Plus, I’ll still gladly accept an offer from the folks down at The Ellen Show. Afterall, her show just got renewed for four more years. I’ve totally got this!

Sometimes the road to goalsetting gold is not as simple as A to B. What goals have you sought after for years? Have you achieved them? And what have you learned along the way?

Paige Elenson, Executive Director of Africa Yoga Project shares with us what AYP is all about and how you can get involved.

My name is Paige Elenson, and I am the Executive Director of a charity I co-founded with Baron Baptiste called Africa Yoga Project.  It sounds like such an important title, when really I am just a girl, now mom, who fell in love with the power and transformation of yoga and wanted to share it with the world.  I remember stumbling into my first class with my teacher, Baron Baptiste. I was a teenager who wanted to attend a retreat in Mexico and had NO idea that yoga was way more than a series of poses. It was then that I realized I wanted to share this, yoga, with the world.

Africa Yoga Project was born following Kenya’s post-election violence in 2007.  We use the power of yoga to support economic development and alleviation of poverty by creating a local market for yoga.  At AYP we train young leaders and empower them to share yoga - in fact, we have just completed our very first 200 hour training program in Nairobi, Kenya where we had over 150 participants from all over the world.  Moses, Catherine and Billy were instrumental in conducting and facilitating the 200 hour training and are the 3 most senior teachers, having just completed Baptiste Level 3 training in Tulum, Mexico.  The tools they gained at this training were shared so powerfully with all the teachers at AYP and the training.  I am so excited to share the video of their journey with you!

I have seen many things in my short life, but the one thing that I have seen over and over is the transformative power of yoga.  If I could share one message with everyone that views this video or reads this post it is that the cliche of “together we can make a difference" is true.  You don’t have to build a school to make a difference, you can make a difference right where your feet are NOW!  Whether you are in Nairobi, Kenya or Vancouver, Canada - we all want to be seen, we all yearn for community and we all need one another.  So today, when you roll out your mat at your local studio, or perhaps wander into a studio you have never been before using your Om Finder app (which is amazing by the way & you can find our studio on it!) - introduce yourself, say hello and welcome someone into your life that hasn’t been there before.  Be the spark of togetherness - let’s together create a world for one another, where we all have enough, where we all share and we all change the planet...together.

Learn more about Africa Yoga Project here. What are you doing today to connect and share with the world around you?

Have you ever watched marathoners at the front of the pack whizz by with earbuds in and wondered what they are listening to? We always do – and so with this in mind we asked our three SeaWheeze run trainers Blue Benadum, Chris McClung and Jenn Howard-Brown to share their favourites with you. This playlist is a pretty eclectic mix, proving that no two runners have the same taste in music! We've compiled their most-loved training tunes into one 8tracks playlist - click here to listen.

jenn howard-brown

Florida Georgia Line - Cruise

Cayucas - High School Lover

Justin Timberlake - Damn Girl

Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven

C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat

Outkast - Hey Ya

Kelly Clarkson - Stronger

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop

chris mcclung

Vangelis – Chariots Of Fire

Survivor - Eye of the Tiger (Chris: "for a little Rocky-style inspiration!")

blue benadum

Hall of Fame by The Script

My Body by Young the Giant

What is your go-to music when you run? Electro? Hiphop? Country? A mix? Tell us your favourites…we’re putting together a SeaWheeze playlist inspired by our guests and we’d love to hear from you!

Whether he knew it or not, Wayne Levy was always a runner. Born in Jamaica, Wayne spent the first 12 years of his life over delivering on his chores; when his mom asked him to pick up some milk, Wayne would sprint to the store and back, handing her the carton practically before she could pour her cereal. She knew he loved to run, but it wasn’t until Wayne moved to Connecticut at age 12 and started playing basketball that he realized he could run laps forever around the court without getting tired or bored. And when his coach encouraged him to join the track and field team 34 years ago, it was the beginning of his life’s passion.

Wayne ran competitively through high school and university and has continued to race with the Boston Athletic Association since. He’s completed 13 marathons, over 30 half marathons and countless 5 and 10 k’s. He runs over 70 miles (112kms) a week and is poised to run his 100,000^th mile during this year’s Boston Marathon on April 15^th. That’s an average of 8 miles (13kms) A DAY, every day, for the last 34 years – or equivalent to 1,760,000 football fields, 33 times across the USA, 4 times running around the earth, or HALF WAY TO THE MOON! A pretty huge accomplishment if you ask us. With 6 Boston Marathon’s under his belt, we sat down with Wayne to find out what makes Boston such a special race, and why running is what makes him tick.

why do you love running?

I owe a lot to running. My mother passed away when I was 16 years old and I started down a bad path: hanging out with the wrong kind of friends, making questionable choices and being self destructive. Luckily I got connected to a group of older mentors from the Runners of Bikilia, a local running club from New Haven, Connecticut who took me under their wing and pulled me back onto the right path. Without running I’m not sure where I would be today.

what makes the Boston Marathon so special?

Other than because it’s the best marathon in the world?!? Boston is such a unique race: it’s the only race that you have to qualify to run, it’s the oldest marathon in the world and packed with history, the route is incredibly challenging, and it literally brings an entire city out to cheer and get involved. It’s surrounded by so much mystique, that the energy from all of the runners and crowd is just electric. It’s held every year on Patriot’s Day (a Massachusetts holiday) and the entire community comes out for parties, BBQs and to cheer – there is literally someone supporting you on every step.

was your first Boston Marathon everything you’d expected?

Actually, in my first Boston Marathon I had to drop out. I made it 17 miles and then my body just shut down. I was so heartbroken because I had been looking forward to it for so long and I felt so disappointed. But I realized that sometimes we fail, and what’s most important is that we keep trying and pushing ourselves. I came back the next year and finished strong.

100,000 miles is A LOT. what does it mean to you to reach that mark?

It means so much to me. If you told me 34 years ago that I would eventually run 100,000 miles, I probably would not have believed it.  What stands out is how I have enjoyed every single one of the 100,000 miles.  Although I hope to run another 100,000, it is quite an accomplishment to run this far.  After all, a lot of cars don't even make it to 100,000 miles!

what advice would you give someone whose goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon?

Anything is possible!  Other than a few exceptions, almost anyone can qualify for (and run) the Boston Marathon.  You just need a little determination, some patience, and a personal commitment to this goal.  With this, the rest is easy.  My father would always say to me, "Plan your work...and work your plan.” The same applies for qualifying for Boston.  And the good news is there is plenty of help (training plans, coaches, training partners, etc) out there.

tell us about something that you’re proud of.

Although I’ve run lots of half marathons and races over the years, I’m so proud to have been the winner of the inaugural Boston Half Marathon in 2001. The half marathon is put on by the Boston Athletic Association (who put on the full Boston Marathon), and it was just so special to me to cross that finish line first, in my own city, surrounded by so much support.

what else should we know about you?

For the last few years I have worked with a company called RunBoston.org, which gives running tours of historical Boston. It’s such a great way for people to see and experience the city, and get to run through some of the most historical neighbourhoods in the USA. People even get to run across the Boston Marathon finish line! I’m proud to now be the owner of Run Boston, and have the chance to share my city with others in such a unique way.

Good luck to Wayne and everyone running the Boston Marathon on April 15th! Follow @lululemonlive for updates on race day - we'll be there with bells on.

Meet Ryan "The Lion" Leier. He's magical, this guy. No really...in addition to defying gravity, he did magic tricks for us wherever we went: our Hong Kong hotel lobby, a local street market in Shanghai, a cab in Singapore. He's an awesome and entertaining travel companion.

  I love this one! It's hard to believe this was only our first full day together. There was such an immediate bond. This shot is en route to a Buddhist nunnery, with a restaurant that serves incredible vegetarian food.

My gals, Giselle Mari and Faith Hunter, both absolutely beautiful inside and out. They opened the yoga tour with our first community class on a rooftop patio in Hong Kong, with views of the harbour and skyline. You would never know they had traveled from the other side of the world the day before. They brought so much energy and lightness.

Faith is a rock, as a teacher and person. You can just see it in the way she assists this student.

A community event in every sense of the word-this class in an art gallery in Shanghai included all levels of yogis, Shanghaiese, Westerners living abroad or on business, members of the media, people wearing lululemon, people wearing jeans. Ryan and Jeff Mah co-taught and incorporated some simple partner poses. If the word yoga means connection and union-this was it, in such a pure, fun way.

This was a trip highlight: cooking class in Shanghai! That's me, along with Kristin Altimari of Lycra. We're struggling a bit here-with jet lag and the precision of folding Chinese dumplings-but we're having a blast, and our dumplings still tasted delicious.

After cooking class, we attended a traditional tea ceremony. I'm a huge tea lover, but it made me realize how fast and harried our time with friends over tea or coffee is back home. In China, sharing tea is a mindful ritual and opportunity to slow down and savor the company you're with and steamy cups you share. This is Giselle pouring white tea (in a circular motion and clockwise) for Faith.

  I can't recall what I'm smiling at. Possibly, everything.

Jessica Edwards, of lululemon who coralled and cared for us along the way, with Giselle. There was a strong sense of gratitude for the ability to do what we do, among great people, on the other side of the world. This brings all that back.

This photo of Faith in Singapore says it all. No caption needed.

Claudia Whitney and I didn't plan to prep for our community class in Singapore the same way, but it turned out we were on the same wave length. We listened to music, stayed loose, and, then, had a ball teaching more than 100 yogis on a roof deck overlooking the marina. There was even a laser show from a nearby skyscraper. I can't make this stuff up...

See lasers! And sarvangasana. But, please refrain from looking at the laser show while in sarvangasana. It's unsafe for your neck-instead, keep your drishti on your navel or toes. (I'm sorry; I couldn't help it).

One of my favorite meditation teachers, Jon Kabat-Zinn, would say, "Wherever you go, there you are." It doesn't matter where in the world you unroll your mat, yoga will find you. It is you.

At lululemon, our most important relationship is with our communities and our guests. We recently learned some information about some product that arrived in our stores and we wanted you to know right away.

At the beginning of March, our stores and ecommerce site received some black luon women's bottoms that didn't meet our high standards. The materials used in construction were the same but the coverage was not, resulting in increased sheerness. We want you to Down Dog and Crow with confidence and we felt these pants didn't measure up.

We keenly listen to your feedback and it is paramount to us that you know we're listening. We are 100% committed to doing the right thing for our guests and living our standards. It is with these intentions in mind that we've pulled the affected product from our floors and website.

We are working with our supplier to replace this fabric and other manufacturers to replenish the affected core items as fast as we can. What that means is there will be a shortage of these styles in our stores and online until our new stock arrives. We are also in conversation with our manufacturing partner to understand what happened during the period this fabric was made.

We are committed to making things right so if you purchased product from our store or on our website and you think it is too sheer, we welcome you to return it for a full refund or exchange. If you have any questions please click here for more information, visit any of our stores or contact our Guest Education Centre at 1.877.263.9300.

We’ve introduced you to the three amazing run ambassadors who will be leading you through your run training for SeaWheeze 2013. Now meet Kerri Kelly, our Official SeaWheeze Yoga Instructor! We love to incorporate yoga into our run training and we’ve built regular practice into the SeaWheeze training program to compliment all those miles on the pavement.

Kerri first found yoga in the late 90s after a series of running and sports-related injuries had her down and out. She quickly discovered the power of yoga, not only as a way to heal her body, but as a spiritual tool to change her life. Inspired by this, she left the corporate world to dedicate herself to empowering others through yoga, and now she’s bringing her knowledge to SeaWheeze 2013. Kerri has been teaching yoga for seven years and continues to explore many styles of yoga to ensure creativity and balance in her classes. She is an ambassador for our Cow Hollow store in San Francisco and will be leading yoga during the SeaWheeze weekend in Vancouver!

Q&A with kerri

1.How long have you been doing yoga?  I "checked" myself into yoga in 1999 after a serious of run-related injuries.

2. When did you start running? I've been running as far back as i can remember.  But it was in 6th grade that i discovered i was fast when i beat all the boys in our PT test.

3. Favourite city in the world? In this moment, I am in Varanasi, India and it is blowing my mind.

4. Guilty pleasure? OK. Here goes. I have been totally afraid to admit this. But i love sci-fi.

5. Favourite type of yoga for running? Balancing poses and core work really help reinforce "whole-body running" that not only makes us more coordinated, but more sustainable runners.

6. One thing you want our runners to remember this year?  Listen to your body.  It is brilliant and will tell you everything you need to know about being fast and healthy.

7. Who inspires you? Right now? Young girls in India.

8. One goal you have for 2013?  Let go and Let it ALL in.

 9. Anything else you want us to know? Yes. Self-care is everything. Build it into your cross-training routine...it will make all the difference (and you will be happier too!)

Watch our Facebook page for upcoming live chats with Kerri to learn more about the benefits of building yoga into your run training. 

yup, it's that time again!

We've all done it: with major excitement, we sign up for a half-marathon…and then two months before the race, we realize that we haven't started training yet. Eeep!

We are launching the TackleBox training program in May – this 10-week program is engineered to help achieve your peak performance at SeaWheeze 2013 (hello, personal best!) However, we want you to begin the TackleBox program with some fitness and cardio skills already under your belt. It is with this in mind that we have created the Get Sweaty Get Ready program.

Regardless of your current level of fitness, Get Sweaty Get Ready has plenty of options available to get you into your running groove. Along with running, we have incorporated plenty of yoga and strength work to augment your training. By the time the TackleBox training program program rolls out, you'll be ready to rock!

If you have any questions about training or anything else SeaWheeze-related, please email us at support@seawheeze.com or post on our Facebook page.

For any other training-related queries, please visit our FAQ page under the "Training" tab.

See you on the road!

Runner extrordinaire and lululemon ambassador Blue Benadum is a passionate advocate for the SoCal marathon community. On the eve of the LA Marathon this Sunday, Blue is sharing the top ten reasons why this is one of his favourite races in the world.

10. elevation.

What elevation? Exactly! This course is pretty flat, making it great for a PR (personal record).

9. good weather.

Well, usually... LA has had it's share of torrential downpours and 90+ plus degree heat, but what race hasn't! Let's look on the bright side, shall we? It's almost always mid fifties (fahrenheit) at race start! Ideal!

8. big city race.

Part of running marathons is the chance to run right down the middle of big city roads with no traffic. I love that feeling!

7. point to point.

I really like races that take you somewhere. No out-and-backs to retrace ground already covered keeps you feeling fresh.

6. oceanside finish.

Uh... need I say more? Running from far inland to the open coast seems somehow innately programmed into us. All water finds the sea... eventually!

5. best mile markers.

There's just something awesome about two-story inflatable arches that you can see from a mile away. It gives you something tangible to shoot for and keeps you focused on each mile, one at a time.

4. The NutriBullet Health and Fitness Expo.

This is a two day pre-race run festival at the LA Convention Center to get you well fed and super psyched to race. This year speakers include Deena Kastor, Josh Cox and yours truly. Come get some tips on running mechanics and nutrition!

3. beach vacation.

Who are we kidding. We run marathons to give us an excuse to travel! Beaches, and beach weather, in March... yep, and I never left!

2. the lululemon cheer station is bananas.

This is hands down the best lululemon cheer station of any race I have run! Around mile 22 you hear it, you see it, then run through the biggest tunnel of dancing luon love on the planet! The next four miles are a breeze! Kind of...

1. run with yours truly!

Obviously the best reason to come to LA to run a marathon is because... I love you, I miss you and I want to run with you! Its all about good times with good people, coffee and running (way too many miles)! While you are here check out other fun runs, yoga and LA randomness me and my running team, LASP (www.LASpeedProject.com) are getting into. We'd love to share our city's secrets with you!

See ya in LA!

Blue

Well...that sounds pretty darned incredible, doesn't it?! Are you running at the LA Marathon this Sunday? Planning on running it next year? Tell us what makes this race a can't-miss on your marathon schedule!

They say everything is bigger in Texas - and we aren't the kind of people to back down from a challenge, buffet or otherwise. This (along with some Down Dogs mid-conference) is one of the reasons our crew has been living #thesweatlife in their Wunder Unders all week at SXSW!

Are you at SXSW this week or do you simply want to follow our team's adventures? Follow our @lululemonlive Twitter feed for all the action from Austin. From indie bands and digital startups to food trucks and mobile innovation, there's a whole lot going on. Tweet at us so we can meet and talk all things bendy, sweaty and inventive!

In the meantime, if you are a SXSW attendee sitting through long conference talks...try on some luon. It's a game changer, we promise.

Last week we introduced you to Chris and Jenn from Austin, TX – this week we’re excited to introduce you to Blue Benadum from LA, who will join them as an Official SeaWheeze Trainer and lead you through the run training for SeaWheeze 2013!

Blue Benadum (twitter: @BlueBenadum, Instagram: blue_benadum)

Blue knows the SeaWheeze well - last year, he placed second overall! He is a pro marathon runner living in Los Angeles and one of our elite ambassadors. He spends most days leading his elite running team LASP in hard pursuit of the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials and also coaching and training LA running teams, groups and schools. He’s currently working on his first book "Find Your FAST! -The Pursuit of Speed, a Runner's Obsession."

q & a with blue

1. when did you start running? As soon as I could walk!

2. what was your first half marathon? The first half of the San Diego Rock n Roll Full Marathon in 2006.

3. what made last year's SeaWheeze so awesome? I love the beautiful course, the sunset yoga, the concert and of course all the beautiful girls in luon!

4. what's your favorite pre-run snack? Oatmeal.

5. favourite movie? Last of the Mohicans.

6. worst run story? I was demonstrating how to do a progressive speed sprint interval to my high school cross country students last year. At the fastest moment, the parking lot took a dip and...wipeout! I was able to roll up to my feet and shake it off but I couldn't run for two weeks. My hip hit really hard. The kids were laughing but a little concerned! ‘What NOT to do when sprinting’ by Blue Benadum.

7. best tip for finishing a race feeling good? The more training the better you will feel after you finish. That, plus good nutrition of course.

8. what's one goal you have for 2013? I really want to chip a few more minutes of my finishing time in a key marathon to set the stage for an Olympic Qualifier in 2014.

9. what inspires you? I am inspired by the pursuit of pushing boundaries. It is a beautiful thing because it is relative to each of us. Everyone has their own limitations and regardless of what they are, those of us that work to push beyond them, find that we have something in common.

We think you should know: Blue’s running team, LASpeedProject.com, is part of a documentary where they will be aiming to set a 300 mile running speed record on March 29-30th from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with 4 guys and 2 girls. Talk about a BHAG!