art walk fundraiser/top gun triathlon

well, i think i mentioned in my last post how i was going to get up early on friday morning… i didn’t and i feel like i’ve slacked. this week kind of sucked working out-wise. i’m not sure why. probably because of my dogsitting having to get up early EVERY morning, no sleeping it at all. haha. anyway, last night we had a fundraiser for TNT in gulfport. it’s their art walk, which happens every 1st friday and 3rd saturday. vendors set up their booths of things they make and sell for the most part. we had a booth collecting donations for the leukemia & lymphoma society. overall, we collected about $145, and we cashed the coins from our jar that we had, another $24, so we’re dividing that money between the two of us. i just sent in money today $251, i think. i’m hoping it gets there safely and quickly before recommitment. i picked up the checks from country day yesterday too.

sorry, i got side-tracked. the art walk was a cool experience. some people stopped and talked to us when we told them what we were doing. one lady did the 3-day breast cancer walk and she really was impressed that we were going to take this half-marathon on. another man used to own a gas station, and got shot 7 times while kids tried to rob him! another person was also supporting team in training. their daughter is from rhode island and her parents make dog treats and sell them to help her daughter out. she’s 21 and also going to san francisco for the nike women’s marathon. she’s going to try to help us raise our money too by giving her recipe for the dog treats to us for us to make and sell too. overall we did well at the art walk and hope to do it again, and possibly take pictures at their costume ball– gecko fest. we’re still working on the details for that. 

this morning we woke up at 5:00 am for volunteering at the top gun triathlon. we handed out the straps and chips to everyone in the morning, and that was kinda fun and then there was a break and then we had to get back to work and take off the chips from the ankles of each athlete. probably 800 athletes or so participated in this sprint triathlon (1/4 mi swim, 10 mi bike ride, 5k run) and we helped each and every one. the atmosphere was a lot more stressful and hectic than our running races. you have to have a number on your helmet, your bike, your running clothes, and i’m not sure about swimming, how that works. i think that each heat has a specific cap color. anyway, it’s a lot different than a simple running race and it seems so much more complicated with the transition area and all the different equipment. but that’s why i’d like to try it, because it’d be challenging!

after we were done collecting most of the chips, pam (our tnt coach) said that we could go eat the food. they had macaroni grill and chocolate cake!! it was delicious and since i hadn’t had anything other than a banana all day, tasted fantastic! while we were eating, katie and i met these really cool guys named todd and troy. they had just done their first tri and it was interesting how they thought it went, and how they trained. they said they had trained for three months (in tennessee, their home). oh, they’re brothers by the way. they inspired me to really try to train for one of these types of events. apparently the swimming portion (1/4 mi) is only 8 laps, (there and back being 2 laps) of an olympic sized pool- which the ymca’s is. they said that the running is the hardest part for them, and us being runners training for a half marathon, would definitely be able to handle a triathlon with proper training. swimming is katie & i’s weakest point, but for me, i would definitely be able to work towards a sprint distance! i would need a working bike though since katie’s bike that i use is broken in some way… anyway it’d be totally worth it. i think that troy and todd both really enjoyed training and the experience as a whole and it’s totally up my alley! we exchanged information, and we’re going to email them our blogs/fundraising pages and we have their blog. it was exciting to meet new people! one thing i have noticed about this team in training project, is that you meet lots of interesting people and everyone has their own story. 

currents
$1935 between the two of us
$943 = my current
$107 = needed for recommitment
$3257 = total still needed

conclusion = still need a lot of money, so let’s donate!

tomorrow katie and i are scheduled to run 10 miles and we’re heading down to north shore since that’s what our team did today while we helped at the triathlon. 

i think i’m going to read now,

hilary!

getting closer to the wire

this past week, katie and i have been attempting to kick it into high gear. on thursday, katie and i decided we were going to have a balloon pop raffle and it was my brilliant idea to try to have it at chick-fil-a at one of our spirit nights. if each person eats there, fills out a slip of paper, 15% of the profits made for that night at chickfila would go to our cause!! and the raffle would bring in a different amount of money, also so that’d be a double fundraiser! hopefully we’ll host that in the next couple weeks. in preparation for that, katie and i went out to different local businesses and asked them to donate something. on friday, erica came over and drove me to the businesses for a follow up and i talked to every single one of them. it was very nerve-wracking since i’m not the best at public speaker. i ended up getting $25 to posno flowers, and a free bike tune-up, and we also had already gotten a skim board! 

we’re thinking up a bunch of fundraisers, they’re on my fundraising page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sun/nikesf08/hpierson

and here:

• Balloon pop raffle at Chick-fil-A Spirit Night- TBD
• Another yard sale (in St. Pete if you’d like to donate your things/money)- August 23rd
• Fundraiser tables set up at First Night- in Gulfport, August 1st
• We’re also helping at the Top Dog Triathalon at Ft. DeSoto- August 2nd, 5:45-10 AM
• Rays game (selling snacks with other Team in Training people)- TBD
• Donation table set up at Physical Night at St. Pete High School on August 21st
• Host a long run at my house (directed at cross country team, but everyone welcome)- August 16th

 

• Recommitment Day is August 8th- This is our first deadline, and we need to each have $1050 in our accounts by then. PLEASE consider this date, and donate? )

today we ran 8 miles at eddie moore. it was a pretty decent run. actually, i didn’t even realize how far we were going because it was a new setting and that distracted me. it was shady, and right near the water (clearwater/safety harbor). we were scheduled to do 9 miles, but we thought that it wasn’t a smart idea, and i’m not sure if i could’ve done that. but 8 miles, not to shabby! right now we’re both working on setting up these fundraisers and thank you notes and such. august 8th is in 2 weeks, but with the processing time it feels like only one!! i really don’t think i’m going to make recommitment unless people have decided that they want to be really nice. i really hope my parents allow me to put the balance on our credit cards, and with all these fundraisers, we will pay them back ASAP.

katie and i estimated that how much we’d make between these fundraisers (probably all in August) and it’d be from 900-1350 each, but we HOPE that we’re estimating low, and more people will surprise us. that leaves us september to get another 1000 each. katie says we can do this. right now, i’m losing hope, though i am motivated to the maxx. (yes, i meant to do to x’s). anyway, i have a list of things i need to do on monday, and i CAN’T FORGET. lol. i tend do to that. but now that volunteering is over, i’m not focused on something else and it is my main priority!

wish me luck & come out and support me!!
(a worried) Hilaryyyy

workout, much?

 

happy 4th of july, everyone!

 

 

I’m proud of myself!

last week, i kicked up my exercise schedule into high gear. i felt that i had slacked since the last 5k (midnight run) on thursday. i definitely can feel my metabolism being boosted from last week, because i’m more hungry that usual. when xc ended in november, and my friends and i stopped running as much, we all felt less hungry during the day and we think it’s because of our sudden lack of running.

 

anyway, my schedule went like this:

 

monday 7/7

•  XC- ran 3 miles 

tuesday 7/8

• 30 laps @ clearwater ymca
• TNT training- ran 3 miles

wednesday 7/9

• ran 3 @ XC
• 36 laps at st. pete ymca
• hip hop cycling class at clearwater ymca

nothing on thurs/fri

saturday 7/12

• TNT- ran 6 miles

sunday 7/13

• power yoga @ st. pete ymca (it was so hard for me, because it requires upper body strength, flexibility, and balance… which i don’t have any of. i’m going to try to go to yoga again, because it uses those things that i need work on!) 

today i didn’t do anything physical. not even xc, which i am a little annoyed at myself for. i had erica sleep over and i just didn’t feel like getting up. tomorrow i have team in training, so i will definitely go to that. i think i’m going to try to swim at break or at least work out in the gym at volunteering. i could try to go to power yoga again at 4:30-5:25 tomorrow, but that’s cutting it a little close on leaving for clearwater with katie. 

wednesday i am going to try to work out rides to go to xc, and later hip hop cycling. i made a really good cd for the class! i’m excited. i am also going to try to run on thursday to make up for the fact i didn’t go to xc, and i probably won’t be able to go to TNT on saturday. i really need to make sure i get my running in. on saturday, we’re scheduled to run 8 miles. yikes! my sister won’t be in town though, which makes it impossible for me to go to training since my mom and dad have the van in NC.

on the fundraising aspect of things, i collected the checks i received in the past couple weeks and filled out the information to send those in, and packaged them ready to mail to the processing place. i also finally got around to emailing the gillettes about a corporate sponsorship. i really really hope that they say yes!!! and soon. erica said she was going to ask her dad about his company sponsoring me also. AND, i need to call courtney’s mom about stevens & stevens sponsoring me. i need as many as i can get. that would take a whole load off my back if i found them. august 8th is less than 4 weeks from now. it’s really making me worried. 

well, i just felt like an update was necessary since i guess i’ve designated mondays as my TNT work days. haha.

hilaryyy!

nervous

hey everyone! today was my last day of weekly camp (for volunteering) yayy! haha. i asked 5 more parents to donate to my TNT, and i’ve gotten 20 dollars more, already! note to self: WRITE THANK YOU NOTES. anyway, i just find it hard to talk to parents. the initiation of the conversation is really tough for me. i mean, i can talk to strangers fine, but if it’s like i’m asking for money, it’s very different. i prefer talking to the moms also; the dads kind of intimidate me more because they’re just guys, i guess. they’re all very nice people though, and when i talked to them, they all seemed super-supportive. i talked to 2 moms in the morning, and michael s’ mom gave me 20 when she came back to pick him up. in the afternoon, i tackled the dads. i went into the room where they were putting on their children’s shoes and kinda just stood near them, trying to build up my courage to talk to them and finally i did and started talking. i told one of them that i was doing that because he was like “oh? i didn’t know you needed to talk to me?” but they were all very friendly and weirdly, they all had accents. i found that odd. it’s all a learning experience, right?

anyway, tonight i have a 5k. it’s at 11:25! it’s called “29th Annual Kiwanis Morton Plant Mease Midnight Run.” i heard about it from some of the tnt people. so i thought i’d drag my running buddies… erica and courtney into it… but courtney can’t go. oh well, i am excited though! and there’s a shirt! i think it’s kinda geared toward the 4th of july holiday. 

katie’s in jax beach this weekend so i’m not sure how much running will actually be done over the weekend, but i really hope i’ll be able to run a little. i’ve been feeling very self-conscious about myself and this is the only way i really feel better. get those endorphins pumping! well i am going to go be lazy for a little bit, and head to erica’s. 

adios!
hilaryy

i’m into cross training!

hey everyone!

I’ve been at the YMCA for the past almost 4 weeks, volunteering for Camp COAST. It’s an autistic camp that my neighbor has created with the parents of her special ed pre-k children during the school year. i’ve been doing it mainly for volunteering hours, but it’s pretty fun and a good opportunity not only for the parents of these children, but also for me courtney and erica. it’s technically our last week that we agreed to but erica and i are going to come back on tuesdays and thursdays to help out. at the ymca, we’re allowed to use the gym, classes, pool, etc. i have been trying to at least cross train a couple times a week in addition to running or if i can’t run, try to get some activity in. the pool is great, because it’s an all over work out and i tried out this hip hop teen cycling class, and i loved it! it made me sweat and burn and at the same time, the minutes flew by. erica & i already signed up for next week! 

last night, katie and i went to TNT training at eddie moore. we ran 3 miles. (the week before that we ran 4). but anyway, it was a good work out also. i felt really good during it, despite the extreme heat (even at 6:30 PM)! i love having a good run, it’s so much more motivating to keep running. next week, i look forward to going back to cross country summer conditioning. i havent been because of volunteering, but i hope its not too bad, because at 8 am, you’d think it’s not as bad… but not the case, it’s still sweltering hot outside! my plan is to go on mondays and wednesdays, and volunteer on tues/thurs, cycling on wed from 5 to 6, tnt on tues/sat, run whenever possible. i really feel like i gotta keep in shape… well more like get in shape. i felt so much more toned and thinner last summer!! :/

on the fundraising front, today i got $100 from a parent at camp COAST and $25 from my academic coach at school (ms. hoffman!), but that still doesn’t mean i’m anywhere close to where i need to be by august 8! we’re planning to stand in front of publix soon and get some more fundraisers in july, hopefully. katie has a yard sale in orlando in the 3rd weekend of july, so if you happen to be in that area, stop by! 

well, i’m gonna go relax a little, since i’ve been out and about all day. keep that support coming, i’m always super excited when i get money into my account (i called my dad at work today because i was so excited, haha)!

 

later,

hilary

summer freedom

heyy everyone! school is out for the summer and i’ve already been busy! yesterday was the first sisters-in-training fundraiser, our yard/bake sale! it was also our daddy’s birthday. the fundraiser went really well. we raised almost $500 in donations/sales. my family hasn’t done a yard sale in a long time and i forgot what it was like. people can be really weird. 

some people came before 8, which is when it started. one man, who apparently is an expert-yard-saler told us what we needed to price higher and what was already too highly priced. he was quite an interesting character. we noticed that people bought clothes and books the most. some people even wanted bras…?  it was also an extremely hot day. humid and hot. katie, my mom, and i got sunburned! but for a morning of work from about 7 to 2 or 3, it was worth it. one thing that disappointed me was the people that said would come, didn’t. erica and courtney spent the night and helped out and for that, i am very grateful. only one other person showed up that said they would, and he doesn’t even go to st. pete high! oh well, i think it was partly because it was morning and teenagers don’t like to be up early. i understand. i really hope that i get to go running today. it’s like my first day of summer. i don’t have any plans and relaxing is so nice! too bad i only have a week of this! next week i start volunteering at Camp COAST, the autistic summer camp at the YMCA in Clearwater. right now, i am not feeling too chatty but i wanted to start this blog up!