Next up on the road to Boston is Gina DiCello, a real firecracker.  We stumbled upon her blog before we met over email. Before long it became clear to us: we want to be her friend. See for yourself. You probably will too. (We're pretty sure she'd happily have you over for dinner, share some training tips with you and send you home with a recipe.)    

the road to boston with gina dicello

Gina DiCello calls the Rush Street, Chicago store her local lululemon home.  If you've never met anyone with a goal to run fifty marathons in all fifty states, now you have. Her love of running is closely rivaled only by her love of friends and food. (Ah, another ambassador who loves to eat. Good thing we all like to sweat, right?) She's counting down the days to Boston on her blog and she took some time to answer our questions.

who inspired you to start running?
No one in particular, really. I was the girl the coaches always put on the B-team. I took up running when I joined the high school track team to shed my B-team/figure-skating/marching-band persona. Track was the only thing that fit my busy schedule and I thought it was the ticket to fitting in. For two years, I rocked out as an 800-meter runner but eventually, my skating took precedence.

I excelled on skates but I gave it up to be a "normal" college student: sororities, spring break, academics. It was during that time I realized I missed the world of athletics and needed to find my place again. Running was that place. This is when I started training for marathons and decided to do one in each of the fifty states.

Why Boston?
Qualifying for and running Boston, is not only a rite of passage as a runner,  it’s my way of showing that little girl on the bench - me - that when life puts you on the B-team, all you need is some dedication, determination and a dream.  Anything you really want?  You can get it.

Going way back in the Gina archives

What’s your goal for the race?
My number one goal for any and all races is to have fun.  (If it’s not fun, what is the point?) As far as a time goal, I would love to finish somewhere in the 3:20’s!  I’ve had a breakthrough in my training this past year and I’m having a blast seeing how far I can take it.  As long as it’s fun and as long as I am still healthy, I will continue to push the envelope.

What has yoga done for your running regime?
Part of the breakthrough I mentioned is due to my paralleled dedication to yoga.  I didn’t start practicing until after a terrible cycling accident had me sidelined for about eight weeks.  As part of recovery, I reluctantly joined some friends from my run group on their weekly yoga session. Very soon after I became quite addicted. 

Almost instantly, I saw a difference in my running – I became less tight and felt the “heavy leg” feeling disipate. My breathing improved which allowed me to hold a higher intensity for a longer period of time. My posture changed, my core carriage changed - everything changed and all for the better.  

Where do you run on days when you feel you can conquer anything?
Because Chicago is pressed up against Lake Michigan, the lakefront path is our city’s playground. Ever seen our winters here?  It’s really the only place where you can get in quality miles on paved, traffic-free paths.  Water fountains, bathrooms and stands to buy Gatorade are plentiful.  So is the people watching, or in my case, the man hunting.

On days when I am feeling like I can conquer anything, I put on my brightest Speed Shorts, a matching Flow Y Bra, and some cool aviators. I hit the path around 5:30 or 6pm when it’s likely populated by a sea of good-looking men.  There is no greater satisfaction than passing a couple of dudes who think they’re keeping up a good pace!

When you're not training you're...
Thinking about training?  Just kidding. When I’m not training, you can find me scoping out Chicago’s restaurant scene, teaching cooking classes to children through a non-profit called Common Threads, building up my marathon coaching business and staying hopelessly addicted to routine Monday nights with college girlfriends. 

Gina created this meal off the top of her head. Yum.

What do you look for in training and race gear?
All gear must first and foremost be comfortable and make me feel athletic.  Chafing is a very real and big issue for runners, myself included (I have horror stories) and if the garment doesn’t do everything it can to prevent that, I’ll never buy it again.  In both training and race gear I like to look put together, matching but also athletic. 

Running a marathon with music: yes or no?
It depends. When I ran the Des Moines Marathon in Iowa, heck yes I listened to music.  There was barely anything to look at, let alone hold my attention for four hours.  When I ran the ING Miami Marathon, I didn’t listen to music.  With so much color, crowd support, and activity going on, I didn’t need it.  I am neither for, nor against running with music – whatever works for you is great!  (Editor's note: Want her Guilty Pleasure Super Speedy 5K playlist? Check out her blog.)

What’s next for you after Boston?
Boston will be my fourteenth marathon on the road to fifty, though it is only my thirteenth state. (I did Singapore in December 2009.)  Next up, I will probably be at the New York City Marathon this fall. If I don’t make it through the lottery or by qualifying at Boston (3:23:00 is the cutoff for women), I will run the Rock n’ Roll Savannah Marathon in Georgia. I can't wait.

visit us in boston

If you haven't heard, we love visitors! If you're planning on being in Boston for the marathon, stop by the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo and the Prudential Center store. There's a lot to see and do with us from April 15th to 18th. The store's Facebook page has all the details. (Heartbreak Hill, here we come.) 

want more?

• Follow Gina's training. She's blogging (and tumbling) the whole thing.
• Contact Gina for training tips. You can email her at walktothemailbox@gmail.com.
• Meet your local ambassadors. Find out who's teaching classes at your local store.
• Read our first Boston-bound ambassador interview with Sue Anne Clark.

Staying motivated while training for a marathon (or any race, for that matter) can be challenging. Gina's blogging; some of you may be journalling. How do you stay on track when the road to a race is an uphill climb?

Day 31 learnings:

1. lululemon makes amazing black stretchy pants.

Both pairs of my Wunder Unders have stood up to this challenge beautifully. They weren't brand new to begin with but they haven't "aged" either. The color did not fade, the fabric did not stretch out and there has been minimal pilling from abrasion.

2. It IS possible to re-purpose.

Prior to this challenge, much of my closet was "categorized". I would only wear certain pieces for work, play, dressy events, and to work out in. I've started to look at all my clothes differently. Something that I would only have pulled out for "dressy" occasions are starting to see the light of day (Examples: Day 1, Day 15, Day 25) and lululemon pieces that only saw the inside of my gym bag are going with me to work and play (Day 12, Day 14, Day 19).

3. I'm already wearing my yoga/run/work out clothes. I have NO excuse not to get my yoga/run/sweat on

The response I received from this challenge has been overwhelming. To every friend, co-worker, and guest who took the time to have a conversation with me, provide encouragement and support, comment on a post, share their day with me by checking into the blog or ask me how I was doing (I loved the concern fellow co-workers expressed over my hygiene), you are WUNDERful. Your words have added more fuel to my fire at reaching my personal goals in fashion and styling.

For my CGSE updates, photos and blog posts
Facebook: Elim Canada
Twitter: @elimcgse
Foursquare: elimcgse

I would like to personally thank Alana, Shawna, and Ron for making this all happen EVERY DAY.

Thank you to lululemon Briar Hill ( @lululemonbhill) for sharing your tweets with me.

Note: Do try this at home. No Wunder Unders were hurt during the course of this challenge.

I love food. There – I said it. Welcome to my world, where everything can be whipped into a mélange of food metaphors. And thus begins my debut blog entry about another topic that I am equally passionate about: balance.

Life hands us lots of choices. As a young girl, my hungry imagination cooked up an image of mile-long buffet table. That's how I see my life. It is possible to run with this analogy in a million directions, but for now, I want to remind us all to stop between "courses" and savor the sweet time that we experience when we clear our life’s plate of responsibilities. Of course, not all of us can lick our plates clean all the time, but we can certainly reflect and enjoy the reward of accomplishment before rushing back to the buffet to fill up on more choices.

We live in a world that is perpetually on fast-forward. Time to sit down for 3 meals a day? Rare. Yet we all know that we reap great physical and emotional benefits when we stop and sit to eat – even more so when we do it in the company of loved ones. These benefits transcend mealtimes – intentional stillness leads to personal reflection, a practice that is widely forgotten in the culture that we live in. "DO IT NOW!" has its place, and so does "BREATHE." Don't forget to breathe.

Summer is here. The kids are out of school. Change is in the air, and fresh blueberries are almost in season. What accomplishment are you going to reflect on today?

In this episode of Char in My Suitcase, Char and Julia bring you the goods of what went down last Saturday at the Chip's Not Dead Yet Memorial Mile. This is, by far, the funnest charity run in Vancouver, put on by Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon. I leave you with four words: Char. Julia. Sumo. Ring.

Ch-ch-check it below!!

Char In My Suitcase Ep.02 from lululemon athletica on Vimeo.

This first episode Julia and I hit up downtown Vancouver to quiz the crowd on their yoga vocab knowledge as well as drop some science on us about the complimentary yoga and fitness classes all lululemon stores offer to their community. Ch-Ch-Check it!

Char In My Suitcase Ep.01 from lululemon athletica on Vimeo.