Yesterday Chris sent me an interesting article on music and working out which appeared in the New York Times. If you read my post of yesterday you might remember that I mentioned wanting to either buy a workout CD professionally mixed or spend some time on my list arranging songs so that the beat is where I need it to keep moving at the pace I’m targeting.

The article helped me understand what we pretty much all know instinctively.

You don’t have to be a scientist to know that when the music is rockin’ and you are pumping away and feeling like Rocky Balboa you feel you could go all day. If your headphones pop off or someone changes the song in the gym at this point you might instantly get pissed and want to cane someone.

Why? “Music provides a timing cue,” said Professor Gfeller, one of the people interviewed for the Times article. “It helps you to move more efficiently, which, in turn, can help you with endurance.” The best songs are what works best to allow you and all of your idiosyncratic tastes in music to coordinate your movements and stay in groove for as long as you planned.

I think everyone could benefit from using music as a motivational tool no matter what your exercise choice. Just be sure to include tunes that move you and distract you from the job at hand.

Yesterday I too went to the gym although it was a fairly nice day. I was determined to do some weights–I didn’t–this is my achilles. I love the results but don’t love the doing of it. Maybe a trainer would help. But I did 4 miles, jogged 3/4 of one and found I can actually walk at 5.0.

I’ve started to envision the timer at the finish line with a new time for us. I haven’t checked in with Chris yet but I see us crossing as it says 2:46. That would mean shaving 14 minutes off our last year’s time. Whadda ya think MsChris? Seeing the clock with a time I want to get to will of course help me achieve that. It’s like Tiger Woods sees every shot before he swings and Michael Jordan seeing every free throw going swish before the ball leaves his hands.

Chris’s story about her mom never ceases to motivate me I’ll tell you. 100 miles? Geez. I bow to her in the mental and physical game but learn from her also. Anything, anything is possible. If it’s our dream it’s possible for us because we wouldn’t feel the excitement inside when it begins if it wasn’t meant for us. So what’s your “maybe-I-could-but-well-I-really-would-love-to-try-this”? Just write down on paper what it would take to do it. Then, well, you know the rest.