Squeezing a Few More Runs Out of 2006

Oh man, I stretch now. I stretch for days. Cross legged, spread eagle, sitting in a swing with my ankles over my head...oh wait. That wasn't stretching, that was our new sex swing...
Seriously, I feel like I haven't run in two months or something. And the IT Band is just as stiff, but I've noticced positive signs. Namely, it's stiffest in the beginning of the run. And everyone knows that pain in the beginning is much better than the end. Or the middle. Or any of those grey areas in between.
So, I've been running. Yes, you say. You've run. But how far?
I've run 9 miles in three days. Ooh, you say. Nine miles? Really?
Yep. In four runs. I look at last years schedule and realize I'm back exactly to square one, when I was doing two-a-days on wildcat Canyon Road. Two miles in the morning, and three miles at night. Since I'm too much of a wreck to string five miles together in one go, this is the quickest and safest way to get up to fifteen miles a week.
Since Don mentioned his goals for 2007, I thought I would list a few I've set for myself at the Nike + iPod website:
Goal 1: (Speed) Run 10 runs in four weeks under Avg 9:30/mile.
Accomplished thus far: 1
Goal 2: (Distance) Run 50 miles in four weeks.
Accomplished thus far: Roughly nine plus change.
Goal 3: (frequency) Um, dunno. Run More?! (to paraphrase the Violent Femmes: "Three, three, I forgot what three was for.")

Anyway, those are my specific goals for the month. Should be enough to give me a decent base, from which , hopefully in February, I can start training for a Half Marathon. After that, who knows? Maybe a few Iron Man triathalons and a whiskey sour. ;)
We're off on a long train to Vienna in two hours, so I won't be seeing/hearing from any of you for a few days. I wish you all a great New Year, and look forward to 2007. It sounds like everyone one of you (us) had a fantastic year. Looking at everyone's year-end assessments, and knowing everything Julie has done as well acccomplishment-wise, I'm amazed how much somebody can run, and drink, in one year. For a bunch of amateurs that is. I hereby pat us all on the back.