Princess of Queens

Tomorrow I will be rising with before the sun to take two subway trains to...Queens! There I will be running the Queens Half-Marathon, a part of the New York Road Runners' Half Marathon Series. Fortunately {knock on wood} the heat wave seems to have more or less broken and we are back to normal summery temperatures. I am really banking on not passing out from heat stroke tomorrow! That is my goal.

In all seriousness, as I have mentioned, I do have a goal for tomorrow's race which is, as ever, to do better in this race than I did in the last. That may or may not happen, but I'm going to give it all I've got. Announcing this on the world wide web will hopefully motivate me during boring or tiring stretches of the race to dig it out and keep on truckin'.

I always run with music. Those of you who don't, I admire you, and also think you're slightly odd. I have had my iPod die on a run only to promptly turn around and go home. Running without music = eating a meal without peanut butter. Just does not happen in my life.

During a race, motivating jams are particularly crucial. During the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I found that my excellent playlist really pushed me through the last few miles and helped me maintain my pace. With that in mind, assembling a set of tunes sure to please was #1 on my to-do list this morning. Another requirement of my playlists is that they have a sufficiently descriptive name. Behold, "The Princess of Queens":



like country, much?

 Lucky you, you also get to catch a glimpse of some of my other stellar playlist titles: "Treadmills are Boring" (um, they are), "Hang Out With Your Twang Out" (again...do I or do I not like country??), and the list from the Brooklyn Half, aptly named...."Manhattan Takes Brooklyn."

Along with some wonderfully new country songs, if you'll look closely you'll see my favorite Hall & Oates guilty pleasure gem - hasn't gotten old yet.

Now, do yourselves a favor and add some of these masterpieces to your summer running playlists:

Brad Paisley (featuring Alabama!!!), Old Alabama
Jake Owen, Barefoot Blue Jean Night
Brad Paisley, This is Country Music
Zac Brown Band (featuring Jimmy Buffet!!!), Knee Deep
Brad Paisley, Be the Lake

And no your eyes do not deceive you...every other one of those songs is off of Brad Paisley's latest album, This Is Country Music. Huge fan.

Enjoy the jams and enjoy your weekend!!!

What are your favorite workout songs these days??