My brother-in-law Chad ran his first marathon Saturday in 4:29. That’s probably about what I’ll run for next week’s Colorado Marathon. I ran the Boulder Marathon last fall in 4:30, so currently, Chad has me beat by one minute. I’m going to target 4:28 next Sunday.

It was Ellie’s birthday weekend. She’s pretty happy with her boyfriend’s performance. Austin bought her flowers and baked her a cake. I haven’t asked any questions yet about the pumpkin.

And it was a big Margot weekend. She spent the night so her parents could go see a band perform. I took her home early this morning so I could get in a twenty-mile run. My last big miles before tapering. I tested out my new Salomon ADV Skin 12 running vest. Such an improvement over my previous vest with big, easy-to-reach pockets.

Next weekend can’t come soon enough. I’m at a good running weight and excited to see if I can beat Chad. He’ll be the first to know if I do.