steph’s journey

This year, Steph Corker raced and completed IRONMAN Hawaii in under eleven hours. This sounds impressive, certainly; after all, this is Kona, the notoriously grueling race filled with sweltering temperatures and punishing headwinds. What makes this feat truly incredible is what it took for Steph to achieve this goal.

Five years before this, in 2007, Steph ran her first 10 kilometer race. Fast forward five years later and Steph has now finished a race consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.8 km) swim, a 112-mile (180 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run.

Here’s how it all went down.

After catching the adrenaline bug, Steph began running and riding her bike more and more frequently, in addition to swimming laps at her pool (she grew up swimming competitively in her hometown of Aurora, Ontario). In 2009 she set a BHAG for herself (big, hairy and audacious goal): finish an IRONMAN. She achieved this goal and continued to train for fun and various run and bike races, with the intent that by 2020 she would conquer IRONMAN Hawaii.

In 2011, Steph picked up Rachel Ross, an ambassador from our Ala Moana store who was going to race IRONMAN Canada; Rachel was attempting to qualify for Kona one last time at the Okanagan race – and in order to qualify, she needed to finish in the top three. A big believer in supporting others in their quest to make goals happen, Steph drove her to the race and cheered her on that day - lo and behold, Rachel won ensuring her spot in Hawaii.

On the drive back home to Vancouver, Steph realized that after watching Rachel go after her dream she also wanted to race IRONMAN Hawaii – and sooner than 2020 (after failing to qualify in 2010 at a shorter distance race, Steph had hung up her runners). However, seeing this ambassador fly to a different country just to qualify reinvigorated her desire to make it to Kona.

Steph came home and examined her life. What did she need to change to make her goal?

The first thing was time management. She got groceries delivered to her house, had her bike set up on a trainer in her living room and got a cleaning service once a month at her apartment. She relied on acupuncture and massage therapy to keep her body feeling strong and consistently ate clean food for fuel. She got up at 5:00am five days a week and stayed in on nights when her girlfriends were going out to try new restaurants and catch movies.

Finally the moment arrived: the race Steph had selected to be her qualifier for IRONMAN Hawaii. She felt good and ready, a long winter of sacrifice and hard work under her belt. With the scent of aloha in her mind, she took off. As luck should have it on that day, she finished just short in the nemesis position of 4th.

the second attempt

Dejected at missing the chance to qualify again, Steph began to question if 2012 was her year. However, some strange energy in the universe kept her IRONMAN dreams alive. A sponsor (yeah you, Newton Running!) stepped up to secure her a spot eight weeks later at IRONMAN Canada. The only caveat? It was taking place in only eight weeks - not a lot of time for recovery. Luckily, she had a crew of rad friends and family who knew she had what it took to try one more time. Steph remembered when Rachel tried (and made it) in the 2011 IRONMAN Canada race. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why it wasn’t possible (like the fact she had only eight weeks between races!), Steph signed up and headed to the Okanagan on August 26th. With her crew of ever-supportive peeps cheering her on, Steph had her fastest race ever and qualified for IRONMAN Hawaii.

kona bound

Steph had just finished her second IRONMAN in eight weeks – and now she had another race only a month away. She was excited and also nervous – the amount of time (or lack thereof it) was daunting. Nevertheless, instead of focusing on all the reasons why it wasn’t going to work, Steph kept her mind on her routine. She headed to Hawaii a week early to prepare for her big day – and guess what? Her crew of loyal supporters all came too!

On October 13^th, 2012, Steph finally got her chance at her dream: IRONMAN Hawaii. She took a deep breath, filled with the smell of flowers and salt water and knew this was her day.

sweet, sweet victory

Steph took off and gave the race everything she had. Despite having raced only a month before, she was able to find what it took to have the race of her life. Despite blisters that formed on the bike, she turned in her fastest marathon time ever and a IRONMAN personal best. Every step was a choice and she remembered that when times got tough in the lava fields.

10 hours, 54 minutes and 37 seconds. 

Five years before, Steph hadn’t run more than 10 kilometres. Now she had completed Kona in less than 11 hours, not only beating her wildest dream time but also the sun setting into the Pacific. Her moment of aloha had come.

key takeaways from steph’s journey

1. have a support system that ROCKS.
As incredible as Steph’s drive is, a critical ingredient to her success was her amazing crew of friends and family. This tribe cheered her on, encouraged her when things were tough, believed in her when things seemed impossible…heck, they flew half way around the world just to see her sweat!

2. everything is a choice.
There were lots of reasons why this goal might have seemed impossible. Logistics, blisters, time commitment, money (news flash...triathlon bikes are more expensive than some cars)….all of these things could have stopped Steph, but she realized that it was all a choice. While there were some tough conversations, sacrifices and tight timelines, she made it happen.

3. when you want something bad enough, failure isn’t scary anymore.
Steph wanted this goal so friggin’ badly that it no longer became terrifying to go after it. The fear of never having the experience was far greater than the pain at mile 22.

What is your biggest, scariest, most exciting personal goal? We've created a vision and goals program to help you begin setting goals and figure out what your ideal life looks like. Get into it!

Thinking about trying a Triathlon? Don't know where to start? Pop into your local lululemon and ask the team!

Hooray, I finished my first triathlon this past weekend! No crashes, leg cramps or tears – success! The ocean was calm, the course was beautiful and there were 5 other lululemon teammates racing. In fact, it was really fun – at least once I was finished.

Thoughts That Go Through Your Head

You have a lot of time to think over the course of a race. Here were the thoughts going through my head:
• I can't believe I'm doing this – amazing, we rock!
• I'm never doing this again, once is enough, people will understand
• Wow, I just passed a 26-year-old, I rock!
• What do you mean we have to do another loop on the bike?
• Mmm, love the color of my new tank top and look, no chafing
• Crap, how are those old guys running by me? They left 2 heats after me
• I need a mani/pedi
• Finish line, thank goodness!
• Whoa, that was cool, maybe I should do another one?

Highs and Lows

The high point of my race was finding out I got 3rd in my age group in the swim. All those master swim sessions paid off. The low was loop two of the run. I felt dizzy because I don't have the skills to drink water and bike at the same time. My friend and stud Tri Babe, Rachel Ross made me feel lots better by saying "if you aren't hurting by mile 2 of the run at a sprint triathlon, you aren't trying." Thanks Rach!

Try a Tri

Thinking about a triathlon? Do it, sign up! Grab some friends and get it done. It's an amazing feeling to cross a finish line. People will help you. You can have a swim buddy. You can be part of a relay. You are done by 10am and can eat all the pancakes you want! Don't know where to start? Go into your local lululemon and ask the team. If they aren’t doing one already, chances are you'll inspire them to do it with you!

View run clothing:

• Run: Swiftly Racerback
• Run: Speed Short
• Challenge Crop

Recently the Biggest Loser teamed up with Tri California to complete an Olympic distance triathlon. Eileen Swanson, a lululemon ambassador and educator at our Walnut Creek store, and her husband had the amazing opportunity to work as the Biggest Loser's coaches for this race! Read about their experiences below:

Reid and I were honored to have the amazing opportunity to change the lives of 16 inspiring individuals (Biggest Loser finalists and winners from the past 7 seasons) by coaching them to be able to complete the San Francisco Triathlon on July 12th. We sent them each a training plan to get ready for this race in 6 weeks. Not much time, but we knew they could do it!

The day before the triathlon, Reid and I did a walk-through of the course with all the athletes. This was so much fun. I love answering question from first-time athletes. They were all so excited, it was refreshing. Each and every former BL contestant we met was super friendly, sweet, and eager to listen and learn.

After the walk-through we were off to a media lunch at Joe’s Grill in the city. It was a delicious lunch and great time to get to know each other better. I sat with Heba & Ed (finalists season 6), Coleen (season 5), Ali (winner season 5), Pete (at home winner season 4), Suzy (2nd place season 2) and Holly (finalist season 4). It was interesting and inspiring to hear how each individual ended up on the TV show and to hear how motivated they were to compete in a triathlon.

The triathlon morning came quicker than expected for all. Reid and I helped each athlete get set up in the transition area, worked on their bikes, helped put on wetsuits and gave some last minute advice. Whoa, there was some serious energy in the transition area. We all had an amazing time watching these newbies get ready for an experience of a lifetime!

The swim start was unreal. I was brought to tears watching all of these athletes giving each other high fives in the water, screaming with joy, and seeing the happiness written all over their faces.

The run was an incredible sight to watch. Heba, Ed, Matt, Pete, Bernie, Blaine, Coleen and Dane looked strong and were always so happy to be out there on the run course and loved the cheers from everyone. Nothing explains this better than some pics of those big smiles. The best part of this amazing weekend was watching each one of these amazing individuals cross the finish line with so much joy! Incredible! It was an absolutely surreal moment. We, as coaches, could not have asked for a better fairytale ending. Congratulations to all Biggest Losers! You truly are inspiring, amazing individuals. Anything really is possible. Keep it going…

A lot of athletes want to add swimming to their cross training, but have a difficult time developing a good workout for their level. If you've decided to get back in the pool for the first time in a while, remember one thing when designing your workout: Swim for distance, not for speed. What I mean is, if you're swimming for endurance it's best not to swim as fast as you can without stopping. This will leave you feeling out of breath, and you'll most likely get out of the pool completely exhausted very early in the workout.

Instead, you can practice swimming each lap at a consistent interval. For example, if you can comfortably swim 50 yards* in 1 minute, give yourself 15 seconds to recover after each 50 and swim 6 consecutive 50s on a 1:15 interval. With practice, you will get faster and be able to reduce your interval times. You can also play with the times and work up to 100 yards on a 2:15 interval, or 200 yards on a 4:15 interval.

If you don't know how fast you swim, you'll want to figure out the right interval for your workout. Give yourself 15 seconds to recover after each 50, and time yourself to see how long it takes you to swim 50 yards five or six times. You can simply take the average of that 50 time, add 15 or 20 seconds of recovery to it, and use that time for your interval.

Here is a sample beginner workout. Take it with you the next time you go to the pool:

Warm up: 4 x 50 (easy pace)
Main set: 4 x 50 on 1:15
2 x 100 on 2:20
4 x 50 on 1:15
Cooldown: 1 x 75, 1 x 50, 1 x 25

Total: 950 yards

*Note to Canadians: 1 yard = 0.9144 metres

Happy swimming!

Billie (above) is a blur of black/disco in our Fastlane Suit Too.

Seven of the lululemon Carlsbad Forum crew (including Kirsten, who we consider part of our store) completed our first triathlon of the season – and did amazingly well!

Meredith, Cristina and Sherry came in second in the relay, Rachelle is 5 of 12 races (1 per month) through her fitness goal for 2009, Kirsten is a third of the way there (her goal is complete 3 tris this summer), Laura swam her first open water 1 mile race (in less than 30 min) and I got 10th in my age group, making my goal time. Our Ambassador Rachel Challis was the second overall female.

We all sported the new Run:Sprint Singlet in Frisbee Blue - easy to spot one another and easy to show off our newest run top to competitors and spectators. It felt like a bathing suit top - soft, moisture-wicking, and sucked me in, in the right ways.

It was rewarding to train hard and compete hard. I loved finishing in an early heat to cheer for the rest of the team, guests and people I'd never met.

We now have one race under our belts and goal times to beat. I, for one, will be working on my transition time! I'll definitely be working out with Rachel's group Training Transition throughout the next several months.

So, you've signed up for a race. You're stoked, you're gradually starting to train and realize that you need a few extra pieces of gear to properly - and safely - outfit yourself.

Here are some suggestions for you from a budget-minded perspective:

Find a friend

Friends who've been training for races, that is. I cannot stress enough the value of pals, family and teammates already in the know. So many are willing to share their knowledge and help newbies find their way.

Some may even let you borrow and product test their gear before you buy (due to following this step, my new name is "Can I Borrow Your Bike" Clapperton). People in the know - especially coaches, will send you information on the hook-ups to pre- and post- season gear sales.

Clothes

It'll be hard to steer you away from lululemon products for your run, cross-training and swimming. Yes! Select lululemon stores have women's sport bathing suits right now (check out the image of Georgia in our Fastlane Suit) We even have some amazing cycling-appropriate pieces: TriBabe Short and Activa Vest, anyone?

Shoes

Your local running-specific shoe store is your safest bet. Many have sales on once-worn shoes. The most important thing is that they'll evaluate your gait and stride, ensuring the ideal fit for your foot, which is worth the price.

Just remember to replace those suckers every 300-500 miles (3 months to a year, depending on your activity level). If you're still relying on your Nike Air Jordan high-tops, hate to break it to you, it's time for some new kicks.

Bikes

- Cycling shops - check out the low mileage rentals turned sale bikes and last season's close outs. Like the shoe shops, these guys will fit you properly.
- Local Tri Club postings
- Craigslist (but be careful - I almost accidentally bought a stolen one this weekend). Have a cycling enthusiast check out the post or come with you to the test ride. If the seller won't let you take it for a few days, or at least a legitimate test ride, don't trust 'em!
- Helmet is a must!

Gear

- At a race expo, usually held one-two days prior to the event. Deals galore can be had here, just make sure to come with a list of what you NEED, and enjoy the new bar samples along the way!
- At a race - similar to the expo, on a smaller scale, and usually guaranteed to be sport-appropriate
- Xterra frequently has sales on wetsuits
- Again, go with your "real" tri friends to special pre- and post- season sales

Used = good

Don't be ashamed to start used with wetsuits and bikes. Don't buy new and pricey, especially if this is your first race and you aren't sure you love the sport yet (but you will!). Find the money:

- Sell your old beach cruiser
- Give up frozen yogurt for a month (ah- that is hard one)
- Pick up an extra shift/account/client with motivation to fill the wallet for your gear
- Take change from others' couch cushions

Next up - We're all busy; No one is too busy to train. How to fit in workouts in around work, family, and sleep!