Shamrock Shuffle Training Check-in.

The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k is coming up in 10 short days {Sunday, March 29} so I thought it would be a great time to do a training check-in. The Shuffle is one of my favorite races of the year. I always run with friends which makes it even more fun. Registration is still open, and you can find my 4 week training plan here.

To prepare for the race, I met a friend for Nike Chicago's St Patrick's Day run last Saturday morning to squeeze in a long run while checking out the green river downtown. The streets were packed with people waiting for the annual parade {and drinking green beer at every establishment calling itself Irish for the day}. Chicago celebrates St. Patrick's Day the Saturday before the big day, and this was the first time I had been downtown in years to check out the green river in person. It did not disappoint. I mentioned the green river last year on St Patrick's Day, but you can find more details on this annual tradition in Chicago Magazine - Why Does Chicago Dye the River Green for St. Patrick's Day?

We finished just over 6 miles on Saturday, my longest run so far in training for the 8k race. Nike hosted a party afterwards at the Michigan Avenue store. This St. Patrick's Day training run is part of the Nike+ Run Club. Group runs are held on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, starting from either store location in Chicago.

Nike sells official Shamrock Shuffle product in Chicago for the race, including men's and women's shirts and jackets, in performance and sports wear. Gear is available at the Bucktown and Michigan Avenue Nike store locations. Nike gifted me a few of the Shamrock Shuffle shirts to try, and I am living in the gray hoodie pictured below. The colors also complement existing pants and shoes - I love this shade of green!

For running, here is what the last few weeks have involved:

Week 1
Sunday 3/1: Ran the Hot Chocolate Seattle 5k; hiked 8.2 miles
Thursday 3/5: Ran 4 miles {treadmill}
Saturday 3/7: Ran 3.3 miles

Week 2
Monday 3/9: Dance Cardio workout class {1 hour}
Wednesday 3/11: Ran 3.5 miles
Thursday 3/12: Ran 4.2 miles
Friday 3/13: Ran 3.1 miles
Saturday 3/14: Ran 6.2 miles

Week 3
Sunday 3/15: Active rest - walked 3 miles
Monday 3/16: Ran 3 miles
Tuesday 3/17: Ran 5 miles
Wednesday 3/18: Power Sculpt Yoga {1 hour}

I'm thrilled that only one run this month has been on the treadmill. I'm planning to finish two more runs this week and three or four next week prior to the race.

For more training motivation, check out the Nike+ Training Program. Hope to see you out there runners!