A realization that she needed to restore integrity into her life was the gender-confused canary in the coalmine for our North US Training Manager, Jenna Hills. The realization that she was dancing the "mom dance" was equally as surprising.

meet jenna

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• Explore a career at lululemon.
• Empower yourself to succeed.
  
• Surround yourself with successful people.

We all made a big fuss over Kate's and William's royal nuptials. Your mom's kind of a big deal too, so treat her like royalty. For all the meals she's cooked, all the eggy chins she's wiped, why not put a little extra effort into mom's brunch this mother's day? After all, it's the most important meal of the weekend.

hollandaise sauce recipe

Eggs Benedict (benny to his friends) with Hollandaise sauce really captures the regal extravagance of a weekend breakfast. Hollandaise gets an unfair rap as being temperamental and, frankly, not worth the effort. If you're willing to give him a second chance, this quick and dirty version of the classic is as easy as it is delicious.

ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks (save the whites for a pavlova)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt to taste

directions:

1. Combine yolks and lemon juice in a blender.
2. Heat the butter in a pot until it starts to bubble.
3. With the blender on, add the butter slowly (if you add the butter too quickly, you'll cook the egg and you sauce will be lumpy).
4. Taste and add the salt and lemon as needed (I like a lemony sauce).

one more thing

Need more reasons to quickly make eggs benny?

• It’s easy to prepare in advance. This 'How to Poach an Egg' video offers tips for poaching eggs up to two days in advance.
• It’s easy to dress up. A little Hollandaise sauce and a sprinkle of herbs creates a real wow factor.
• It’s easy to justify. Sure, it's a little more indulgent than your usual breakfast but all that protein is great for muscle building (and great motivation to go for another run).

Do you have bigger plans to celebrate your mom? How will you make this year more memorable than last?

Sometimes you just have to trust that mother knows best. That trust may be hard to find when she wakes you up at the crack of dawn to go running. Since she began running seriously two years ago, Jordan Gardner- the daughter of our uber-fit VP of Global Brand, Deanne - has come to appreciate her mom's early morning ritual.  (Apparently Grandma has something to do with it too.)

running together

Until recently, running together wasn't Deanne's and Jordan's forté. When Jordan was 12 years old, Deanne, Jordan and her younger brother ran the Vancouver Sun Run 'together'.  "I ran maybe the first kilometre with them, before I took off," says Deanne, "I said, 'okay guys, I can't run at this pace. See you at the end'."

Now Jordan’s pace is more in step with her mom’s. When she isn’t swamped with school commitments, they run together twice a week through Vancouver’s Endowment Lands. The forest runs give the awesome twosome time to catch up. They chat about everything from their daily lives to their respective goals and what they want to cook for dinner. (They love to cook and bake as much as they love to sweat it off together.)

three generations of go-getters

Deanne learned about the mechanics of running from her mother who is also responsible for her competitive edge.   "Compared to normal people I have a little bit of competition," says Jordan, "but not against my mom." (Editor’s note: A cursory glance at their personal bests is all it takes to see how they love to push themselves – and each other. At a recent half marathon, both finished second in their age class. Deanne finished eight minutes before her daughter.)  Jordan definitely exhibits her mom's drive, "I want to do a half again and, like, beat her. Eventually." No doubt both women would love to claim Grandma's title.  "My mother was a great runner." Deanne says, "her best time was a 1:28 for a half. She was quick."

lessons learned

If Jordan could have one attribute of her mom’s, it would be Deanne's determination. "She’s a pretty determined woman," says Jordan, "She wakes up rain or shine, any weather, and she’ll just go." [case in point: when we caught up with them, they were running in the sleet] "So, you can’t really have an excuse to not do it. It’s always going to feel good. Some days I have to drag myself out there but when it’s done you feel so much better."

How has your mother motivated you and kicked your butt into gear? Or does she still kick your butt?

want more

• Ready for brunch? Try our eggs benny.
• Bond with a little baking. Our top Bliss Ball recipes.
• Our designers love their moms.
• Make sure you're race ready for your big race.
• Learn to run properly: the abcs of running.

This essay about Kathy's achievement as a first-time mom and newbie runner was a timely reminder for us that Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th. Trying not to love her story was nearly impossible - like training for your first marathon under the scorching Las Vegas sun.

marathon mama

by Kathleen Pugh, Georgetown ambassador, runner extraordinaire and Ava's mom

I never liked to run. My husband, Drew, was the runner. Faithfully, I watched and cheered as he crossed finish line after finish line while secretly waiting for him to see the light. That kind of activity was a little nuts in my opinion. Who would want to sweat like that?

After the birth of our daughter, everything changed. I had gained almost sixty pounds. The weight hung around like a bad houseguest who doesn’t know when to go. "Who is this stranger?" I wondered. My frustration was further compounded by our recent move from Washington, DC to Las Vegas. Life as I knew it was over and I was having an identity crisis. I was a fat, lonely, nervous new mom, lost in Las Vegas. Something needed to be done to free me from my funk. What would a woman in my situation do? Sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon, of course!

gutsy determination

“Are you sure about this?” Drew asked.

“Yes,” I snapped, and added rather indignantly, “What, you think I can’t do it?”

“You could, but when you run you sweat; you don’t like to sweat.”

I shrugged it off. After all what was a little sweat? That would be the least of my problems.

I trained during the summer, which in Vegas doesn’t end until Halloween. Have you ever spent a summer in Vegas? I don’t mean inside a luxurious, climate-controlled casino playing slots and dreaming of instant retirement while a cocktail waitress serves you chilled rum and cokes. I mean outside, pounding the pavement where it’s like an oven by 7am. You might think, so what, it’s a dry heat. But, like a food dehydrator on a late night infomercial, the dry Vegas heat sucked every molecule of moisture from my body, turning me into human beef jerky.

Image: flickr/Nicoli Chepe

running on the strip

To outsmart the punishing sun, I had to start before sunrise. I needed to run a route that was well lit where I could refill my water bottle and take bathroom breaks, so I ran under the neon sun of the Las Vegas Strip.

The strip is never boring. Stragglers from the night before stumble around in a drunken stupor trying to find their way back to their rooms. One time I saw a guy leaned up against one of the pedestrian overpasses sandwiched between two beautiful young blonde women with their hands in his pockets.  I ran past the threesome, and then looked back. The blondes were gone and so, I suspect, was his wallet.

With hotels that replicate Egypt, New York, Paris, Rome, and Venice, I traveled the world sans jetlag and cramped seating. I became so distracted and delighted by the grandeur of volcanoes, fountains, and pirate ships on the boulevard that I almost forgot I was running inside a hairdryer.

Rather than being enticed inside the casinos by promises of easy money, I was drawn in by the icy air that blew from their doors. Once I played a few hands of video poker on a bathroom break - I lost.  I’m sure the sight of a sweaty woman running past blackjack and craps tables at dawn left some glassy-eyed gamblers wondering if they’d seen a mirage.

As race day approached I started to panic. What made me think that I, a woman whose prior running experience consisted of running after buses and subways, could run 26.2 miles? Who did I think I was flying across the country to run a marathon? But, it was too late to back out. I’d already bought a cute new running outfit and told everyone I knew that I was running.

Drew flew with me to DC. This time he would be the spectator. Race day was perfect. The leaves had begun to change color and it was sunny and in the 60’s. While the runners around me complained about the heat I thought, “Piece of cake! Try doing this in 100 degrees!”

race day

As the race started I was filled with a sense of joy. I lost all the weight and my body and confidence were strong. The spectators, whom I privately appropriated as personal cheerleaders, shouted “Go Katy!” Wait a minute, I’m Kathy not Katy. What’s going on here? I looked down at my shirt. The “H” from the “GO KATHY” I had placed on my shirt with black tape had peeled off! I knew I should have written my name in marker, but I didn’t want to ruin a new shirt.

I felt energetic and euphoric as I ran through the streets of DC past our great American monuments. I imagined the city erecting a monument of me to honour this great feat. Sure Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR were great men, but they never ran a marathon.

Somewhere around mile 20 my euphoria and energy simultaneously screeched to a halt. I hit the much talked about “wall.” Hell, I slammed into it like a bad NASCAR wreck. Defeated runners were carried into ambulances while others limped around me. I would not be one of them.  I would run across the finish.

During the last mile, nearly on my knees in pain, I started to chant, “You are strong.” My spirits soared as I saw the finish. I ran through the pain remembering that someone said there would be free beer at the end.

As I crossed the finish, a young marine placed a medal over my head and with tears in my eyes I thanked him. It was one of the best moments of my life.  I sweat. I sweat a lot and I loved it. In this moment I had found myself. I was no longer a fat, lonely, nervous, new mom. I was a new woman. I was Kathy; still a mother, but also a strong, confident proud marathon finisher.

want more?

• Read more about Kathy in our Road to Boston blog series.
• Run an eight-minute mile with her.  She leads running camps in DC.
• Follow other mother runners. Check out this blog.
• Pick up a last-minute gift for your mom. Bath salts are so 1993.
• Apply to become an ambassador. Head to your local store or start online.

We learn a lot from our moms, like the importance of saying "please" and in some cases, how to fold napkins to create table-top origami. (A vital life skill, really.) In what way have you learned the value of leading an active life because of your mother?

Me and my Mom enjoying the sunshine after a walk around the park, waiting for yoga.

It has made all the difference in her life, in our lives for that matter. She is healthier and happier than ever, and spreading the good word of OM to her girlfriends by dragging them to class as well. So for Mother’s Day, I plan on spoiling her the best way I know how, with a complimentary yoga class at lululemon La Jolla and a few of her new favourite lululemon things we picked out together.

a few of my mom’s favourite (new) things

My mom is very stylish and very savvy about what she sweats in and will wear around town. That being said, I thought it best to bring her to the store so she can pick out her favourites, and then I would find a present out of her selections. Here is what she chose:

Get Started Jacket in heathered coal wee stripe: She loved this jacket because it is made out of luon light, and the back is almost entirely mesh. Perfectly light and warm enough for spring and summer.

Why We Made This:

• Start your day off right in this body skimming, warm up jacket
• Made with luon light® which is lighter than our regular luon and has the same great benefits - wicking, 4 way stretch, breathable
• Mesh back allows for maximum breathability
• Hidden loonie pocket to secure $ & keys
• Zipper guard eliminates chin irritation
• Thumbholes keep your sleeves down and hands warm!

Mynah Jacket in black/passion: She loved this jacket for it's length, structure and "bit of funk" as she put it. It is made of our classic luon, so it will wick her sweat after yoga, and on her morning walks.

Why We Made This:

• All sport jacket perfect for layering over your gym & yoga gear after class
• Made with luon®, our signature fabric, is breathable with coverage, a cotton-like feel, and has 4 way stretch to provide support and allow freedom of movement
• Body skimming, medium length jacket
• Zipper guard eliminates chin irritation
• Thumbholes keep your sleeves down and hands warm!

Flashback Jacket in classic sport grey/passion: She loved the lightweight, comfortable feel of this jacket. She loves her Remix Hoodie, and she thought this would be a perfect spring/summer version.

Why We Made This:

• Wear me to the gym, yoga, or on a bike ride around town. There is nowhere I can't go!
• Our own blend of cotton french terry has stretch so it won't bag out!
• Body-skimming fit for easy-wearing
• Added thumbholes for keeping sleeves in place
• Flat-seamed for chafe resistance and comfort
• Preshrunk

Run Pep Tank in Passion: She loves the silky smooth feel of the luxtreme fabric, and loves that she can wear her Ta Ta Tamer underneath without it showing.

Why We Made This:

• A shelfless basic workout tank to designed to fit over full support bras
• Luxtreme™ feels silky smooth on, and is light weight with inherent wicking performance to keep you dry and comfortable
• Strategic anti-stink circle mesh panels in high sweat areas
• Body skimming with open neckline for an easy and comfortable fit
• Hidden back pocket
• Flat seamed for chafe resistance & comfort

In the end, my favourite on her was the Get Started Jacket and the Run Pep Tank. She really needed a lightweight jacket for summer, and the tank is simply the icing on the cake. I know she will love both for our yoga class this Sunday.

I am SO proud of you mom. Happy Mother's Day and Namaste.

In celebration of moms everywhere, we asked some of the lululemon product designers to introduce us to their moms.

cara and her mom gail

Mum, thanks for encouraging me to follow my passion no matter what - I wouldn’t have turned my hobby into my career if it wasn’t for you! I <3 U!!
- Cara: Assistant Designer, Men's

chelsea and her mom, elaine

I want to thank my mom for being my best friend and never treating me like a kid. She’s always looked at me as an equal and been there for me. I couldn’t ask for anything else. She’s the best mom ever! Love you mom!
- Chelsea: Assistant Designer, Yoga

natalie and her mom colleen

I want to thank my mom for always believing in me and helping me with all my unfinished sewing projects until all hours of the night. Mom, you are my best friend and I am so lucky to have you. You are always up for anything, whether its a shopping marathon or an afternoon run. Thanks for being you! I love you!
- Natalie: Assistant Designer, Yoga

janine and her mom, marilyn

thanks for being strong and gentle at the same time, for doing what you love and inspiring me to do the same, for being truly the best listener i've ever met, and for teaching me what both family and a beautiful relationship look like.
- Janine: Design Manager

colin and his mom, lydia

I want to thank my mom for letting me draw, paint and doodle on my bedrooms walls growing up. Most kids get into trouble when they do that, but not with my mom, she encouraged it! Now I just happen to draw all day for work, so thanks mom! I love you.
- Colin: Graphic Designer

lina and her mom, vickie

I truly treasure every moment we get to spend together. I appreciate all you contribute to my life and all the life experience that you so graciously share with me. I feel so fortunate to have such a successful, resilient, passionate and powerful woman as a role model in my life. Thank you forever and always for all the support and encouragement.
- Lina: Assistant Designer, Run

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our lives! Read some stories from the men of lululemon about the loves of their lives, their moms!

Rob: Director of Operations at lululemon athletica

My mother Marge was born in the small farm and mining town of Yatesboro, Pennsylvania. My mother loves nature and is especially fond of the ocean. She has a great sense of family and the home both her and my dad created was one of love and support that allowed me to become the person I am today. Christmas is a special time as mom transforms the house into a winter wonderland of trees and lights and enough food to feed an army. Going home to this day during the holidays makes me feel like a child again.

My mother always told me to trust myself no matter what the situation. No matter what the outcome she was always there for me.

I want to thank my mom for always keeping me grounded and for teaching me about all the little things in life. Most importantly how to love. My mother also to taught me how to cook and it remains a passion that we both share and a love of mine to this day.

Thanks Mom,

Love Rob

Nate: Film and Motion Designer at lululemon athletica

Tell us about your mom: Grew up in southern Ontario... she loves scrapbooking...just because.

What's the best piece of advice your mom ever gave you?: "Do what you think is right".

I want to thank my mom for: Letting me take the van that one weekend in high school...

Chuck: Web Manager at lululemon athletica

My Mom grew up in a big family in tough times in Nova Scotia and accomplished her RN degree before marrying my Dad and moving across the country to Port Moody. She raised four boys, and did it with care, love and composure. She set the bar very high for me as a parent for patience and her approach to parenting.

The best piece of advice my mom ever gave me is to always think about how your actions affect other people.

I want to thank my mom for teaching me how to be a parent.

Jon: Sales Audit Analyst at lululemon athletica

Without a doubt, my mom played a major role in my life while I was growing up. She was not a typical stay-at-home mom but more like "Superwoman". Neither did she wear a cape nor have superpowers but she was always there when I needed her help. While growing up, she would constantly remind me to work hard and plan for the future. Without her advice, I would never be where I am now.

I want to thank her for valuable advice and her years of support. (And I am not just saying this because it is Mother’s Day.)