Rich on Running: An ‘overture’ to the tempo of a run

If there’s one July Fourth memory we share here in Massachusetts, it’s listening to the Boston Pops play the 1812 Overture, whether by the shores of the Esplanade or on TV.The Overture was actually written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, honoring the defeat of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. Today, Bostonians associate it with Keith Lockhart, bells, cannons and fireworks.Well, perhaps we should associate it with the structure of a race, too.Whether you’re running a road race or doing a trail run this week, you might want to include the Overture on your iPod playlist. It lasts a little over 15 minutes, an excellent finish for a 5K. And from start to rousing finish, it’s a good guide for how runners often approach a race.Maybe it’s not an exact comparison, as the Overture begins with a long, solemn selection of string music to indicate the plight Russia faced when Napoleon invaded ? and then the mood changes from mournful to menacing as the invasion begins. I hope this isn’t how we feel about our next race!It is about three to four minutes into the piece that the Overture begins to resemble the tempo of a race. This part is dominated by short, sharp, blasts from trumpets and French horns ? much like the way many of us start a race. Tchaikovsky’s brass instruments play the martial air of “La Marseillaise,” the national anthem of the French, and our pace out of the gate might be just as speedy as we try to challenge ourselves from the outset.Then, after this bravado, things become subtler. About seven minutes into the Overture, woodwinds replace trumpets as the music slows down ? just as we runners may find that we can’t keep up our pace as the midpoint of an out-and-back beckons. Our footsteps grow more gradual, and we take a break and use the intermission to fine-tune our form. Our steps become more deliberate and more confident, just like the flute and cor anglais playing Russian peasant folk music in the middle of the Overture.It is, of course, the end of the piece that echoes in our minds, and just as Lockhart and friends create a grand finale with a brass band, cannons, bells and fireworks, so do we hope to finish a race in similar style. The French horns pick up “La Marsellaise” again for the finale, and the violinists pitch in for all they’re worth, just as we might amp up the intensity for the closing stages of a race. Underscoring the intensity of the Overture is the majestic sound of the bells accompanying the brass (French horns, trombones, tuba), the strings and the percussion. Talk about a finishing kick!But we’re not there yet. There is a dizzying, descending, downscale bridge of string music that might remind us of one last obstacle. Perhaps it’s the final single-track trail before the Lynn Woods “field finish.” Then the bells chime triumphantly, the kettle drummer pounds away, and we hear the familiar brass-band finale. Is this not the musical version of our excitement at powering through the cones and crossing the finish line?On your next run, instead of playing Bruce Springsteen or Rihanna, think about Tchaikovsky as your running buddy. I only hope that once we’ve crossed the finish line, there is no brass band pounding away in our chest ? and no fireworks going off inside us, either.I wish everyone a happy, healthy July Fourth!Where to run this week?Runners have several options for races this week. In Foxborough, there is the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50, with both 5K and 10K races, on July 3. You can sign up in person at Patriot Place; for more information, visit http://www.harvardpilgrimfinishatthe50.com/registration-info ? Meanwhile, at Lynn Woods, there are the cross country runs Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m., including a short course (2.5 miles), a long run (4 miles) and a kids race (1.59 miles). For more information, visit www.lwrun.org.Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].