Keeping pace with 4/4 time

There are times when I need motivation to run. The fact that it's good exercise isn't enough. The fact that it might be a nice morning for a run isn't enough. The fact that I have some nice scenery along my usual route isn't enough.

Which is why I bring music along.

In the same vein that I should stop and smell the roses, I should probably run and listen to the birds chirp, commune more fully with nature. But birds don't chirp in 4/4 time.

I've discovered that the 4/4 time of most of the music I listen to on my iPod is a good pace in which to run.

Each piece of music has a time signature, used to signify how many beats there are in each measure. Those are the numbers that you see on the first line of a piece of sheet music. That's the time signature. A piece written 3/4 means three quarter notes per measure. A piece in 4/4 time means four quarter notes per measure.

Waltzes and minuets and the like are written in 3/4. Rock and pop songs are in 4/4 time. I guess that's why rock and pop are considered a bit more upbeat than waltzes and minuets, thus lending themselves more easily to those of us who need the metronome like beat of music to get us through our running workouts.

I discovered how well timed my running stride is to 4/4 time one day while running and listening to "Boom Like That" by Mark Knopfler. The drummer's beat and my beat on the pavement were in perfect sync. Every other stride of my left foot hit the ground on the downbeat of the drum.

Because there wasn't much else to do at the time except run, I also did a rough calculation using the stopwatch setting on my watch to measure my speed in 4/4 time. By running to the beat of "Boom Like That" I covered a half mile in 4 minutes and 26 seconds. That's almost a 9-minute mile. That pace isn't going to win me any gold medals at the Olympics, but that's a good pace for me these days.

The point of all this?

Sometimes in life it's good to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes it's good to listen to the birds chirp.

But when it comes to running, I want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly and efficiently as these aging legs and cardiovascular system will allow. If that means chugging along to the 4/4 music coming through my iPod earphones,  then more  power to me. God knows I need as much power as I can get.

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YouTube video of "Boom Like That":