Running Battles: The Sounds of Silence  Alone with the world on
a winter morning run  January 12, 2009  Not quite ready to
surrender my outdoor winter running card, I slipped out this
morning into the cold predawn inky darkness pinpointed with a
thousand bright stars.  I walked down to the end of the driveway
and eased into a slow trot, cautious, feeling my way carefully
along, trying to develop a sense for the slippery spots.  As I
began to ease into my run, what first struck me was not the
cold, although it was quite cold.  Rather, what struck me was
the silence.  There have been many times in many seasons when,
running before dawn, I have felt like I am the only person awake
in the entire world, but the silence is never more noticeable
than in the wintertime after a snow.  I suppose the snow must
absorb sound, and that creates the unique acoustic winter
environment.  The untainted, pure silence is something I had
forgotten about.  I trotted along at an easy pace, my ears
listening to the silence and the so