Someone said, Distance = speed x time.
Well, “speed” also includes “time” and includes “distance” (such as mph - “miles” / “hour”)
“Distance” is the change measured.
“Time” is also a “change”, a normalized metric of regular change within the measurer’s perspective (each clock tick is of the same duration as the the last or next, as the clock hands change position on the dial for a single observer). Because the distance and the metric are both within the viewer’s frame of reference, the viewer can compare, “How many changes of the clock ticking happen for the variation that the measure object changes?”
[even though in different perspective when travelling at very different velocities, for two observers, “NOW” is “NOW” in both, and a second “Now” is “Now” in both, even if one sees an hour between the nows and the other sees a year between the nows due to high velocity.]
Time is understood as real when you compare a known duration (the expected duration of clock ticks) with an unknown duration event, and then you describe the unknown duration in terms of the known set of duration of change (how many clock ticks).
John Martin