The gym may be packed, but I've noticed fewer and fewer runners out there braving the cold.  And it really hasn't been THAT cold (though it's supposed to be freaking frigid tomorrow morning - we'll see if I wuss out and go to the gym or if I tough it out in the single digits).  I think it's the inevitable post-New Year's resolution breaking, because now I'm back to just me and the old guys who walk every morning, with the occasional sprinter blowing past me.  I didn't see anyone else out running when I did my 10 miles on Monday morning, and only a couple of the guys I usually see out walking.  Could have been that everyone was at home still crying into their pillow over the Steeler's loss in the Super Bowl.  Whatever it was, it's sometimes nice to have that much time *alone*.  A couple of years ago a friend gave me a hat that said "Marathon Mama: 26.2 miles of peace and quiet", and sometimes I think that that's a big reason that I run.  I get time alone when I can listen to whatever I want without one of my kids telling me they don't like it, or my husband turning it off as soon as I leave the room.  And it's time when I don't have to communicate with anyone beyond a "good morning" or a nod and wave as I go past.  That's not to say that I don't enjoy running with someone else on occasion - I've very much enjoyed when I've gotten to run with Speedy, and I enjoyed taking a couple of laps a few weeks back with a guy who was training for the Boston Marathon.  But overall, it's nice to just get to be quiet and to hear myself think.  Or not think.  There's something wonderful about not having to think about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other.