1. Hi Hilary! Please tell us about yourself.
So a little bit about me…I am a super-competitive, nature-loving, clean freak. I grew up in Anchorage and then spent my early- and mid-twenties doing the gypsy thing- travelling as far away from home as possible for as long as I could, and doing odd jobs around the southwest.
I kept trying to move away from Alaska but I kept coming back. I think I am here to stay this time. My fiancé and I are in the process of purchasing and remodeling a house, I am wrapping up a Master’s degree, and hope to start working as a special education teacher with ASD next year!
2. How long have you been attending FF, and how did you find us? What sessions do you typically attend?
I have been coming to Figarelle’s since November of 2014, so about 5 months. I found Figarelle’s when I was creeping around on Facebook one day and decided to give it a try. I was just bouncing back from knee surgery and was looking for something to shake up my exercise routines. I love to get my weekday work outs done in the mornings so I go to the 6:00 a.m. boot camp classes with Charlene and then I sleep in on Saturdays and hit the 11:00 a.m. class.
3. What are a few of your favorite FF Boot Camp exercises?
I really like using the TRX. The thing I like about it is super simple, 100% customizable to different strength and skills levels, and the stronger your get and the better you’re able to use, the harder the exercises get
4. What motivates you to work hard?
FOOD! I love it, can’t get enough of it. I mean, also, just to be a healthy individual and to feel good, but really, it’s because of food. Also, my overactive sense of competitiveness helps, too!
5. What are some of your favorite things to do in your free time (hobbies)?
Anything and everything outside! I love to hike, backpack, fish, snowboard, run, bike, whatever! As long as it gets me moving and out in the sunshine I am totally in to it!
6. Explain your perfect day. What does it look like?
It would start by waking up in some sort of tropical paradise. I would have coffee looking out on the water, then head to the beach for a run. The afternoon would be spent on a sail boat and there would be lots of scuba diving, cheese, and tanned, shirtless men aboard…and I guess I would bring my fiancé, too! The afternoon would wrap up with some beach soccer, beer, and an obscene amount of guacamole while enjoying a magical sunset with dolphins jumping on the horizon. Then I would catch a bluegrass concert (because there is lots of bluegrass music in tropical places, right) and be home and in bed before 10. Boom. Perfect.
7. What’s your next big goal you’d like to accomplish?
I really want to place in the top 50 of the Gold Nugget this year. I made it to top 100 in 2013 and it was my goal to place top 50 last year, but I ended up tearing my ACL playing soccer and wasn’t able to race.
So, the goal is back on this year! I have learned from some mistakes from the last race (for example, do not attempt to pull on spandex pants after swimming) and I have been working hard all winter. So, wish me luck!
8. What is your favorite restaurant to eat at in Anchorage, and why?
It’s a toss up between Pho Lena and Ginger. I probably eat at Pho Lena more than a person should, especially since I have been doing a kitchen remodel for the last few months! I think it is some of the best Southeast Asian food in town and they have so much variety on their menu! If it’s time to be a little fancier I love to go downtown to Ginger. They have my favorite cocktail there, the Chupacabra – Grapefruit juice, vodka, and jalapenos. If you like spicy, you probably need to go there immediately and get one!
9. Have you ever met anyone famous? If so, who?
If I have, I didn’t know who they were!
10. What is your proudest accomplishment?
Well, I haven’t 100% accomplished it yet, but I WILL be getting my Master’s degree soon and putting school behind me for a while. I am currently working on my Masters in Special Education and I am due to finish this December. School and I have had a love/hate relationship for a long time (I am sure most people can relate to this). It took me 8 years to get my undergrad because I wasn’t motivated and I did it more out of obligation. When I decided to go back to graduate school I dreaded the idea that I had another 2 years of classes and homework ahead of me. But, here I am, almost in my last semester. It’s funny that after all my struggles in school I am choosing a profession where I will be at school every day!