“In the cherry's blossoms' shade, there is no such thing as a stranger," says yoga teacher Peg Mulqueen over the loudspeaker. I join her voice to chant 'om' with over 1,000 brightly-clad yogis here to practice yoga during the peak of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.

Peg leading over 1,000 people in yoga.

A whole bunch of warriors.

We are no more than fifteen minutes into the practice, and I have already violated pratyahara, or control of the senses, because I am definitely not keeping my cool. With the awe-inspiring National Monument, American flags, and a big, cloud-filled sky looming over a record-breaking crowd, I find it hard to focus on the practice.

The best way to spend your Saturday afternoon.

I cannot help but scan the energetic rows of down dogs and warriors surrounding me, and the rock star yogis from near and fear. On stage practicing are this month’s Yoga Journal cover model Faith Hunter, David Kyle, a world famous yogi from Puerto Rico, and Kaitlin Quistgaard, Yoga Journal’s Editor-in-Chief.

Faith doing lotus pose.

The event was organized by lululemon athletica Tyson’s Corner manager, Laura Mann, with the support of lululemon athletica educators from all over the DC region. Our region came together to maximize our word-of-mouth persuasion and online community, garnering 1,200 confirmed guests on Facebook alone in the days leading up to the event.

The amazing lululemon team!

We chant a final 'Namaste' just as the sun peaks out from behind the clouds. A warm breeze sends cherry blossom petals fluttering around us just as we bow our heads. Ah! Now this is yoga!

Namaste.

Elyse after her full marathon.

Was I nervous? There were the normal pre-race jitters, but I tried to keep them at bay as I went through my pre-race routine. Besides, I knew I wasn't really going into the race alone - I had much support from friends and training partners, and I was confident that my running coach, lululemon Ambassador Mike Hamberger, had me well trained. I was read to go.

I had two goals in this race:

1. to stay relaxed and have as much fun as possible, and
2. to run a 3:10 marathon

I knew what all of my split times had to be for each mile, and all of my training runs had shown that this was in the realm of possibilities. I lined up in my corral, and the gun went off. My first mile should have been a 7:15, but I ended up hitting the first mile split in 6:38. Way too fast! Instead of panicking I re-adjusted my pace, but I never ended up slowing down to that 7:15 pace. By mile 15, I was three minutes ahead of where I needed to be in order to run 3:10, and by the last 10k I was nearly four minutes ahead of goal, so I just held the pace until the end. I ended up running 3:06, over an eight minute personal best time, and finished 24th!

One of my favorite moments was passing the Philadelphia lululemon cheering section. It was definitely the loudest and most exciting! I was looking forward to seeing the lululemon crew all race, and hearing them during the last 10k was exactly what I needed to keep me on target.

For me, being able to run well and be myself at the same time is of the utmost importance, and this was a race where I really tested that. I am learning that I don't need to put a lot of pressure on myself to be a serious runner, but that I can be fun and my natural friendly self at races, while achieving new personal bests at the same time. I can be focused in a race and be taken seriously as a competitor, but still wear a cute outfit and pearls! I can finish in the top 1% of a major marathon and have the most fun doing it. I can smile at crowds cheering and still remain focused and in the moment with each mile. Hence, I ended up putting it all in stride, and really enjoyed each and every moment of the race. And all of the cheering for the girl racing in pearls didn't hurt, either!

Lastly, this was not a solo effort by any means. I attribute much of my success to many pre-race pep talks by my training partner, the guidance of my coach, all of the great training runs with the lululemon and Washington run clubs, and the inspiration of my amazing run mentors and friends!

Elyse's running journey has truly been inspiring. Read her first blog post back in April, there’s nothing like your first time.

Above is physical therapists Robert Gillanders and Sarah Thorpe, Dane Rauschenberg, Elyse Braner (who wrote this!), and lululemon Ambassadors.

lululemon Logan Circle kicked off Marine Corp Marathon weekend in Washington, DC with our pre-race "Run into More Runners Party". Eighteen elite runners and running experts from across the industry were present to mingle with and advise lululemon guests on everything run. Only at lululemon would the everyday runner have this type of access!

Marathon runner, author, and motivational speaker, Dane Rauschenberg kicked off the evening by leading a pre-race run. Rauschenberg completed 52 marathons in 52 weeks, while raising money for charity. He captivated guests with tales of his marathons, as well as signed copies of his book, See Dane Run.

lululemon run Ambassadors Julie Culley, Lindsay Wilkins, and Mike Hamberger interacted with guests as well. Julie competed on this year’s USA team at the World Track and Field Championships in the 5k. Lindsay was the second place finisher at the 2008 Marine Corp Marathon, and Coach Mike owns and operates his own running and triathalon personal coaching service.

The event was also filled with medical professionals, from sports psychologists to physical therapists. Run charities such as Team in Training, Girls on the Run, and Girls Gotta Run were also on hand to teach runners how they could give back.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening for me were the attendance of two women that I look up to in the industry. Elayne Chow, of Graceful Edge, a website dedicated to hip and active women. Elayne brought me on to be the “Run Expert” for her site, which has grown tremendously in the last few months. The biggest surprise of the evening was the arrival of Brae Blakely. Brae is the Founder and Executive Director of the popular Zooma Women’s Race Series. It was an honor to have a powerful woman in the run industry at our party!

All in all, we all had a great time, and we definitely ran into more runners!

Who are you running into?

Above: Elyse and her run club!

Life can be most enjoyed when you live your life with passion. As former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said, "The most important thing you can do in life is to find a passion. When you find your passion, you'll realize that you didn't find it - it found you."

I was fortunate enough to find my passion as a quiet fourteen-year old in Northern New Jersey. From the very first moment that I stepped foot on the track, I was hooked on running and quickly became immersed in the culture. In college, I ran competitively as well, but I also found myself involved in many activities outside of running, mainly politics. I had this idea that running was just for fun and that I needed to focus on ways that I could build a career. I didn't see a way for me to find a career within the running industry.

After college, I became a political appointee with the U.S. government, and was still running and training hard, but I was very equally balanced between work, running, and my social life. Shortly after the 2007 Marine Corp Marathon, I had a running injury that sidelined me for about two months. As soon as I learned that I had to take some time off from running, I immediately panicked, but I also realized that the reason why I was so upset, was because the sport of running is my biggest passion in life.

Fast forward almost two years later, and I have built my life around running, and found a way to make a career out of the sport of running. Nearly 99% of what I do for fun and for my career revolves around running. As an educator at lululemon, my focus is running, whether it is organizing our run club, or talking to guests about my favorite run products. Now, I coach elementary school students and adults. I am able to share my passion for the sport as President of the Washington Run Club. And I am also studying for my personal training certificate, so I can further my knowledge on working with athletes.

As I write this, I also am icing my foot, as I have a stress fracture in my right metatarsal. Unlike during my injury after my '07 marathon, my life and career are now built around running. So, even though I have to take a short break from running and hit the bike and pool, I still feel very much in the game and involved in the run community, because I know that the athletes I coach need me, that the run club still needs to be organized, and that my friends and training partners will appreciate me just as much cheering from the sidelines. This injury is certainly the least devastating as of yet, because even though I would rather be running with my athletes and friends, I know that everything in my life is about running. I am my passion. And I made the decision to build my life that way.

Making a passion into your whole life is not for everyone. My challenge to all of our lululemon blog readers is to think about what you are truly passionate about and cultivate it. You will be happier and more fulfilled.

Above: Educator Kelly Ferraro, Guest Joanna Russo, Elyse Braner, Ultra-run Coach Bryon Powell, and Guest Cristina Burbach.

Recently at lululemon Logan Circle in Washington DC, we had our very own running meet and greet, called "Run into Runners". We invited several notable runners for our guests to interact with.

Runners are typically open and friendly people by nature, but I was struck with the ease in which the elite runners in our group and the beginner runners interacted. Time and experience didn't matter: we all had running in common, and that was enough. It was inspiring to see many first time lululemon guests at the event come out to our running club the following day.

Our run experts included:

• Melissa Tanner, an elite runner from Washington DC. She ran for Harvard University, and was third in the Marine Corp Marathon. Melissa brings a sense of balance to her training and racing, which is a huge part of the lululemon culture. Read more about Melissa's training: http://melissatanner.blogspot.com/
• Lance Breger, our phenomenal lululemon Logan Circle ambassador and head trainer at Mint Gym in Washington DC, discussed strength training for many of our guests and led core work demonstrations. Lance has an uncanny ability to make the beginner exerciser feel comfortable, so it was great to see him give some of our new runners advice on how to supplement their run program with strength work. Read more about Lance here: http://lancebreger.blogspot.com/
• It was also an honor to have one of my best friends and running/ life mentor at the event! Naoko Ishibe is truly an inspiration. She has twice qualified for Olympic Marathon trials, is a Harvard phD, and is one of the classiest women you will ever meet. Unlike many elite runners, Naoko did not start running until her senior year of college. Naoko is vice president of the Washington Run Club and recently led the club's women's team to a first place finish at the famous Cherry Blossom Ten Miler!
• Sean O'Brien, former pro-runner for Nike, and colleagues with Lance Breger at Mint Gym shared his amazing run stories. It was exciting to hear about his training and interactions with other elite athletes. Sean was definitely a fun run expert for our guests!
• Ultra-run Coach Bryon Powell, recently back from a 5 day race across the desert in Morocco was there to chat about very long distance running and his amazing adventures. Bryon is not only an inspiration in the running community, but he also really exemplifies the lululemon manifesto. Personally, he has inspired me to follow my passion for running and start a career in the running industry doing what I love. I think we are going to hear a lot more from Bryon in the upcoming months, and he will continue to inspire many more runners. You can read more about Bryon on his popular trail running website http://www.irunfar.com.
• Rick Amernick, president of the Capital Striders running club, brought many of his runners and shared a lot about his group and the upcoming race that the group is hosting on May 30th. Rick has grown his organization to over 1,200 members. You can get more information about Rick's group here: http://www.meetup.com/dccapitalstriders/.

During the event, we even had a surprise visit from elite runner Julie Cully, who was the first American finisher at the World Cross Country Championships! Julie is an inspiring athlete and it was an amazing treat for our guests to meet and interact with her.

lululemon is a hub of health and fitness and is a great resource for all athletes. Where else would you be able to interact with so many amazing runners in one place?

Above: Melissa Tanner (Elite Runner), Elyse Braner, and Julie Cully (elite Runner and first American finisher in the World Cross Country Championships.