As I’ve mentioned before, this past weekend’s 11 mile run had me groovin’ to some new tunes on my playlist. Last week, I expanded my playlist to 3 hours of music. Yes, that’s right…3 hours. I have previously highlighted a song that helped put me back in a more positive way of thinking during those 11 miles (“Overcomer” by Mandisa). Today, I’d like to highlight a couple more.

First up is “It’s Good to be Us” by Bucky Covington. I put this one up first because it was surprisingly fun to run with. When I went about putting together some new songs, I knew I wanted to try out his “American Friday Night.” I don’t listen to Bucky all that often. When I went to load “American Friday Night” to the playlist, I also listened to other tracks on his debut CD as well. “It’s Good to be Us” stuck out because it is another good times kind of song. The lyrics are very positive and the tempo of the song seemed about right. When I ran on Sunday and this song came up, it lived up to its title. As a matter of fact, because my playlist was set to “shuffle” I got to hear this song twice. Each time, it brought on good feelings and a little more energy.

The first song was a surprise. The second is one I knew would be fun to run with. “Remix (I like the)” by New Kids on the Block is from their latest album. After seeing them in concert a few weeks ago with my wife, I knew this song would eventually make its way to my playlist. It’s a song that makes you want to get up and dance. I also like the lyric that says “I like the new you…” As a person who is becoming a runner and losing weight as well, this song is a reminder of what I want to become…a new me…a healthier me. The only bummer for me while running to this song on Sunday is that I got to run during the verses and in a band break only. So, I didn’t get to run during the choruses. Although, I’m pretty sure that my walk breaks featured me walking faster than during some of the other songs on the list.

Creating a new playlist always seems to put me in a good mood. The excitement of running to the new lists and seeing if they will actually be fun to run along with has been a way for me to keep my training fresh. Whenever you find yourself feeling like your motivation to keep on running is not what it once was, I highly recommend changing up your running playlist.

I’m off to San Francisco today for a much-needed vacation with my wife. We’re visiting one of her sisters for the rest of the week. It’s going to be a fun-filled trip with a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum, Angels-A’s baseball game, Giants-Cubs baseball game and a few other items on the itinerary. I’ll also have the “fun” of two training runs through the hills in San Francisco. I’m not that great at running hills. So, it should be interesting. However, training for the Disneyland Half Marathon will continue, even when I’m on vacation.