My brother and my dad both got me runner's mace, which is a smallish can with a velcro strap so it stays at hand when you're running without you having to grasp it unless needed. I traded one to my mom for one of her duplicate pedometers, which was interesting for a while (until I realized that most of my exercise is paddling and farm work, and therefore not well recorded.)

It's surprising how many steps you cover in a day, though. And Alaska is gorgeous (though I haven't visited yet) but I prefer Oregon now for the longer daylight hours. *wonders why she's considering moving to Vancouver*