why milla loves the crb

The Cool Racerback tank is made of lululemon's signature fabric, luon light, and it is the perfect layering piece to wear from day-to-day activities to any intense workout. It's moisture wicking, and has no inner shelf bra which gives us unlimited ways to create outfits that suit our athletic lifestyle. I will be wearing this style of Cool Racerback tank in different colours for 7 days starting today, September 10th, to show you how much I appreciate the versatility of this tank. Every day, I will take two photos of myself to show you the different ways to incorporate this tank and create outfits from street to sweat.

day 1: sweat

Today I'm kick-starting this challenge with a Cool Racerback tank in Tang Light at our ambassador Icy Lee's studio in Quarry Bay - Yogasala. In Iyengar style yoga, a lot of emphasis is put on very precise body alignment, therefore it is recommended that we wear tighter fit clothing from top to bottom for alignment corrections. In Icy's classes, I always wear my Cool Racerback, layered with a medium support Flow Y Bra, and pair it with the Wunder Under Crop for best alignment awareness.

day 1: street

Here I am, walking down these historical stone steps of Pottinger Street in Central District. It's one of the busiest streets in Central because of its authentic local community from fruit stands, Chinese home decor vendors to selling Halloween costumes all year long. There are more than 10 yoga studios and gyms in Central and I usually walk through Pottinger Street to go from home to my favourite yoga class. At 33 degree celsius, I will definitely benefit from the light breatheable fabric of our Cool Racerback tank!

See you tomorrow for day two!

Rest, relax, recover and revel in your accomplishment! You have trained hard for the past four months, so it's time to let your body repair. This is often hard for many runners, as a marathon brings not only peak physical fitness, but a phenomenon called "runner's high," which makes you feel so good after a run that you can’t wait to run again.

Along with all of these wonderful feelings, post-marathon can also bring about feelings of depression. A lululemon run club guest recently came to me a couple of weeks after her first marathon and told me that she was feeling depressed. She asked if it was crazy to feel that way. The answer? Not at all. Post-marathon depression is very real and is often accompanied by a sense of loss. You spend four months training, you structure much of your life around your training, you look forward to race day, and then in a matter of hours, it is done.

Rest is vital. Your body needs a few weeks to repair itself and recover before you begin your next training cycle.

a game plan

For me, I set out a post-marathon game plan. This season, my race is the Philadelphia Marathon. After the marathon, I am taking five weeks off from hard training to allow my body to repair and recover. Besides lululemon run club, I will not be running, but will be replacing my hard runs with yoga classes, core work, and strength training to let my body recover and to lay a foundation for my next training cycle. In terms of beating post-marathon blues, I always host and cook Thanksgiving dinner (this year for 14) to give me something immediate to look forward to and focus on once my fall racing season is over.

after you cross the finish line

Once you cross the finish line, start rehydrating immediately. Before your post-run celebration beer or wine, make sure you have had plenty of water -- after all, that is what your body needs. Replenish yourself with some carbs and protein, stretch, and put on a layer of clothes over what you raced in for your walk back to the hotel to keep you warm.

the morning after

The morning after the race, jog 10-20 minutes to get your legs moving a little bit.

the next month

Following that, the next month should be about easing off of running to let your muscles repair. If you're going to run, take it very, very easy, don’t race, and don’t do speed workouts. I recommend cross training. While I pick-up yoga (and cooking), try a racquet sport or something different that keeps you moving, but not training at full capacity. This will not only be good for your body, but you will start your next season feeling fresh and eager to be running again, and will help you keep your post-race emotions in check.

how you spend your post-marathon time

How you spend your month post-marathon is important. As runners, we are sometimes greedy about our fitness, and we want to stay in peak form all year round. This is impossible to do, and trying will often lead to injuries and feeling of burnout.

Are you just starting to run? Read Elyse's other blog post about The Run Date!

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?

When I first started triathlon training, I liked to joke that I support my local growers by eating everything in sight! My farmer's market in Leucadia, California was thrilled, my Mom was proud of me for cooking and Seaside Market in Cardiff, CA was happily selling me coconut water by the case. I was expending all this energy training and I didn't know how to refuel to keep my body moving – so I just ate a lot and often.

It took a lot of trial and error to figure out the mechanics of eating, but I am starting to get it down. I found that when I got too hungry, I made bad choices and portion control went out the window. So now I break my meals into 5 to 6 a day. I time my biggest meal after my biggest workout (usually lunch after my noon master swim).

Here are some of my favorite pre/post workout foods:

• Avocado toast – Who needs butter? (So delicious and great for the heart, cholesterol, breast health)
• Tuna fish, cucumber, chopped heirloom tomatoes mixed with Annie's Lemon Chive dressing, cracked pepper and crumbled goat cheese (my protein revival meal!)
• Coconut water (Nature's Gatorade, coconut water naturally hydrates the body)
• Banana, almond butter w/ a sprinkle of flax seed (protein, Omega3s, a powerhouse breakfast or snack)
• Oatmeal with fresh berries and agave (heart healthy and filling)
• Frozen Yogurt – only if I get toppings!!!
• Beans, brown rice, tomatillo salsa, lime, crushed red pepper and shrimp in a wheat tortilla – dinner for 3 nights straight last week!
• Fish tacos and a frosty beer (it's all about the balance)

The two best pieces of advice that work for me:

• Hydrate at night. But of course! Score one for more energy, less leg cramping and better digestion.
• Up your protein intake. I don't eat meat so this was a tricky one. I do eat fish so I upped my intake (yippee, more fish tacos!) and added chopped hard-boiled egg to salads. The protein gave me energy and kept me fuller longer.

I'm always looking or new ideas, recipes, meal plans. Check out my friends' James and Beth's food blog (pictured below). They put the yummiest stuff on there!

left to right: Kirsten, Katya, James, Rachel (Tri Babe) and Beth (Tri Babe)

What are your favorite things to eat pre- and post-training? (p.s., thanks for the Clif Shot Blok Margarita suggestion, yum!!!)