A Stroll Thru the Hood

Workout: 4 1/2 neighborhood miles (aka "hell miles"), 10:35 average

Merry Christmas! What an unoriginal start to a post! But really, it's the most wonderful time of the year, haven't you heard? Anchorage has been gifted with a bounty of new snow, which is pretty much the best thing ever. 

Our day started at a local school, where we walked Bailey.

She brought the new toy that I got her (side note: buying presents for dogs is way more fun than buying presents for people), and that she's already managed to chew up. I'd give it a day or two before that thing's history.

I swear she's really into it.

Christmas was ridiculously fruitful. We got the best thing ever: a FAKE-BUT-REAL-LOOKING FIREPLACE, just like my neighbors have. Real fires are nice and all,

but come on-warm flames at the push of a button?! Welcome to the lap of luxury.

I decided to run off my excitement with 4 1/2 miles around the neighborhood. It was snowing a lot. I took this hilarious picture after I finished. I truly have a talent for taking disastrously unflattering photos.  If you ever need a wedding photographer, give me a holler. Notice the snowball falling off my right eyeball (your left).

Running in my neighborhood blows. All hills and no scenery. Today it was made tolerable by the fact that it was snowing, but all the "someday you'll thank yourself for these hills" in the world didn't make me any happier about it. Isn't it funny how when you're sitting on your couch you feel like you could run up Everest (piece of cake!), but as soon as you begin to actually run up something you immediately panic about heart explosions?

My times were slow,

but hopefully the elevation stats make up for it. I'm really, really slow on downhills because I sort of think they were responsible for my surprise stress fracture during an incredibly hilly half marathon earlier this year (I had trained on the flat roads of New York) so I'm too afraid to bomb down them.

 My street. That sign says "speed hump." Making this gal giggle for 10+ years. This is the only flat area in my neighborhood.

Enjoy your feasts and festivities, you krazy kids.