Last 2 weeks in a nutshell...Running, Baseball, & Viruses.

This post will encompass the last couple weeks. We were pretty busy, and I had a work function to prepare for so we didn't get a post in last week.
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous these last two weeks, and we're remembering why we liked Phoenix so much! We've been able to work back into a more rigorous running schedule as well, and try to catch up on our marathon training (without getting injured!).
Last week we did some of our usual routes for our 6-7 mile runs. Mara had the great idea to utilize one of Phoenix's lesser known park systems, the Scottsdale Greenbelt. It's a 25mi trail running from near our house to the NW edge of Tempe. We did a really nice LSD run (Long Slow Distance)from Tempe to Shea hospital, a total of 13+ mi. It was long, but the parks and such were really nice to go though, especially the ones with water. We found a couple new parks to take Rohan to also. We went the next day and hit up one with an awesome play area and TONS of ducks to feed. Rohan is getting pretty good at throwing so most of his bread pieces even make it to the water.
The highlight for me last week was our TGEN retreat with our research partner group Van Andel Research Institute. VARI is out of Grand Rapids, MI so they come here once a year and we go there once a year to help stimulate research and update everyone on current advances in our labs. This year TGEN (somehow) organized a TGEN/VARI softball game at Chase Field, where the AZ Diamondbacks play! We've gone to several games, so it was awesome be able to be on the field. Everyone had a huge smile on their face for the privilege to be playing on a major league field! It was a really fun time too. They played George Carlin's skit on Baseball vs. Football, and gave us drink tickets as well, and rented out the Strike Zone Lounge (a bar usually reserved for VIPs) so it was a very casual atmosphere. That being said, TGEN whooped VARI with a 6 run 5th inning to win 10-8...:) I played pretty good as well. I was 1 for 1 (we had 30 people playing) with an infield hit (see video), and a run scored. I also had 2 catches in left-center and an outfield assist by throwing someone out at 2nd. All in all an awesome night!
Last week we also gave Rohan another haircut. He was in desperate need of one, and in most of our pictures in WI he looked like a little dutch girl with his hair flipped out to the side. We got TONS of ammo before we started. Coloring books, food, drinks, and books. Mara did the cutting and I did the distractions. He did pretty good, and Mara did an awesome job with the haircut too. Saved us $15 if we took him to one of those specialty kids haircut places! He looks like such a little man now...:)
Saturday we took Rohan to a health fair at Scottsdale Shea Hospital (one Mara has rotated through). They had a sweet petting zoo, firetrucks, bounce houses, food, and police cars. Rohan was completely geeked the whole time. He LOVED his fireman's hat, which is almost identical to the one Jackson has at G&G's that Rohan wouldn't leave alone. Rohan also got to take a teddy bear through the Teddy Bear Clinic in the children's ER. He was getting pretty tired at that point, but he did seem to enjoy it by the end. His bear got a band-aid, some medicine, and some TLC. We skipped the Electrocardiogram due to the line and Rohan's need to nap, but we had fun. Afterwards we relaxed and watched IA whoop on MI. GO HAWKS!
Later Saturday we went on another longer run (just 10mi this time). It felt good, and we used the Greenbelt Trail again. We really enjoy running on that with all the parks and water, and a trail that has very few bumps in it. It really is a lot of fun to run on . This time we just went from Shea hospital to the dog park and back. It's also a neat way to see parts of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley we are familiar with in a car, but now we see them from a pedestrian view.
Sunday was spent in a achy, virus (we think) laden haze. Whether it was something we ate, or a 24hr virus, but we spent most of the day taking turns napping, trying to keep up with Rohan, and trying to eat something. I think we had a few spoons of yogurt & applesauce, part of a candy bar, and a 1/2 bowl of cereal all day. We feel a little better today, but still feeling the effects from yesterday. Rohan seems to be doing just fine and he ate most of what we ate, so we are leaning towards a virus he didn't get. Hopefully it won't interfere with our training too much this week, especially since we have an 18mi run scheduled for Saturday...we'll see about that...:)
Hope everyone had a great week. Enjoy the pics & vids:


My base hit at Chase Field!:


How to wear out Rohan:


Rohan Dancing to a Hispanic dance group: