Some might remember my earlier research on carbon offset credits. My wife and I push ourselves to reduce our carbon footprint. Added to this is a new push to reduce the footprint carbon has on our budget.

Rising oil prices are starting to hurt. Today, I calculated my average monthly spend on gas for the Jeep Liberty. At $4 a gallon, it now reaches $165 a month. That doesn’t tickle.

More and more Honda Civics are on the road. A line of them at a stop light this morning got me thinking about oil efficiency. Would it be cheaper for me to get a new car? If so, how much money could I save by spending money?

Tonight, I did some calculating. Based on the manufacturer’s suggested sticker price, I could save the following money each month if I were to buy one of the following car new at full sticker price (figures include monthly payment and gas prices based on $4 per gallon at my normal monthly mileage averages using EPA MPG estimates).

-        Honda Civic (entry-level): $156.40 per month

-        Honda Civic (high-end): $125.40 per month

-        Toyota Corolla (mid-level): $114.20 per month

-        Mini Cooper (mid-level): $87.20 per month

-        Honda Civic Hybrid: $85.00 per month

-        Subaru Impreza: $67.60 per month

-        Toyota Prius (mid-level): $39.4

Minus interior space and 4×4 capabilities, I can’t think of one reason to not buy a new car. Am I crazy to think this is a no brainer?

The half marathon was indeed a wake up call. It restarted my fitness push. It sparked a resurrection in riding. Surprisingly, it also sparked more running.

The simple truth is that it’s much easier to get a good work out by foot than by pedal.

First, the preparation time is much shorter. All that’s needed is to slip on some shorts, a shirt and my running shoes. There’s no other equipment to consider. No tire pressure, helmet, water bottles, etc. All it takes is tied shoe laces and an MP3 player if I feel inclined.

Second, 30 minutes on a brisk run pushes me hard, especially if I try to cut time off my regular three mile route. Thirty minutes on the bike just leaves me warmed up for more, which I often don’t have time to do.

Since the half marathon, my alarm clock rings 30 minutes earlier three times a week. I get up, and get a run in before starting my day. It’s a great feeling. In fact, I’ve decided to modify my 2008 resolution.

I resolve to combine biking and running for a total 2008 miles in 2008. So far, my 2008 running total is 81 miles (scary that that includes the half marathon). I’ve also added 20 miles on the bike, with another 20 planned for tomorrow.

Mileage Update:

·         Mileage Goal: 2008

·         Mileage Total: 421

·         Mileage Remaining: 1587

The wife got a new set of wheels. For her birthday in 2006, I picked up a Trek townie to spark an interest in cycling. It worked.

Fast forward to 2008. The government offered an economic stimulus bonus. Who are we to argue? It went to good use: A new Felt road bike.

The Felt is quite nice. It comes equipped with a decent group (Shimano 105) and is much lighter than the Cannondale we considered. Plus, it fits better and is less expensive than the comparable Specialized and Trek offerings.

The wife has adorned a perma-grin ever since. As a result, the miles are rolling in once again. There’s even talk of commuting to work all summer. It’s a gift we both enjoy. I still have a ways to go to reach 2008 miles, but the Felt helps.

Mileage Update:

·         Mileage Goal: 2008

·         Mileage Total: 310

·         Mileage Remaining: 1698

(Personal note to my wife: “The wife” moniker is deliberate.)

Control over my blood sugar completed evaporated after the half marathon. Typically, my average blood sugar drops drastically after endurance events, allowing me to take less insulin. The past week was anything but typical.

The Sunday night after the half marathon, my blood sugar spiked to 400 mg/dL (normal blood sugar is 80-120 mg/dL). Consider me frightened. The last time it was anywhere near this high I ended up in a Singapore ICU with diabetic ketoacidosis. It was 600 mg/dL at that point, marking my introduction to diabetic life.

Throughout last week, I couldn’t gain ground on my blood sugar for the life of me (literally). It hovered just below 200 mg/dL despite upping my daily Lantis intake and post-meal Novalog injections. Something had to be wrong.

On Monday (Memorial Day), I found the answer. I switched my half-empty vial of Lantis for a new batch. Problem solved. The vial must have inexplicitly gone bad. I don’t know how or why, but I’m happy the switch worked.

Needless to say, last week was a tiring tug-of-war to gain ground. Things are back to normal now. Consider life back on.

Sunday was bitter sweet. On one hand, May 18 marked my 29^th birthday – the last of my roaring twenties. On the other, it was judgment day for the Colfax half marathon.

I spent last week trying to talk myself out of running. The reasons piled up.

• I didn’t train enough
• It was my birthday
• The weatherman forecasted a beautiful day
• I didn’t train enough
• I’d rather go camping for the weekend
• I’d rather go mountain biking
• It started at 6:00 a.m.
• I didn’t train enough

 
In an act of self-destruction, my wife and I went drinking on Friday night. We ended up playing drinking games at the Gorilla Room in downtown Littleton until the wee hours of the morning. Saturday was spent recuperating from Guinness overload. One day was not enough recuperation. Add hung over to the excuse list.

In the end, excuses were not enough. I ran 13.1 miles on Sunday – my 29^th birthday. It was painful. Adding to the pain, I twisted my ankle 12.5 miles into the run. To hell if I was going to quit that far along. I hobbled to the finish line in 2:31 with grimaces of pain on my face and Guinness seeping from my pores.

Today, I’m still sore. I’m sore partly because of my ankle, but mostly because every major muscle group in my body aches in agony due to overuse and under-training.

Why did I do it? Responsibility.

I felt responsible to run because I spent money in December to register for the event. It seemed like a good idea at the time. More importantly, I felt responsibility to get my life back in order. Over the past year, work and life got in the way of my physical fitness. As a result, I lost control of my type one diabetes.

It’s now time to take responsibility and get my life – and my diabetes – back in order. This means increasing physical activity. This means not hiding from exercise.

With 13.1 miles under my belt, I feel prepared to fight against my diabetes.

The Colfax half marathon is Sunday. My training is comical.

In reality, I’m about half way there in terms of half-marathon running shape. I have a handful of five mile runs under my belt. Going into last week, I wasn’t discouraged. In fact, I was optimistic.

The initial plan called for daily runs while on vacation in rural Ohio. There’s nothing but country roads anyway, so what could be better. The only problem is that it rained every day I spent in Ohio. This wasn’t just rain, but downpours. Running was out of the question for this armchair athlete.

Now that I’m back in Colorado, I plan to get a run in tonight and maybe another short run on Friday. Let’s be honest though, these short runs the week of the event won’t help. Reality is setting in that I face a very painful birthday on Sunday.

Denver is Driving Change. The city introduced a $400,000 program (funded by EnCana Oil & Gas) to track and educate the environmental impact of citizen driving habits.

According to the program, rapid acceleration and hard braking lowers gas mileage by up to 20 percent. Idling can consume up to one cup of fuel every five minutes. The program tracks idling and rapid acceleration through a device mounted on car windshields. The data is communicated wirelessly to a central database for measurement. At the same time, drivers keep fuel logs to track fuel efficiency and personal driving habits.

Driving Change expects to install equipment in 400 public and private vehicles throughout Denver. This includes Mayor Hickenlooper’s car, as well as Jeff Wojahn’s car (president of EnCana Oil & Gas).

True to our goal of living greener lifestyles, my wife signed up. The device is now affixed to the windshield of our Subaru Imprezza. We haven’t received any reports or measurement yet, but expect updates as the program continues.

Sunday was a beautiful day. The Ellsworth begged to get out of the garage. I was happy to comply.

The original plan called for a short ride on Green Mountain. It snowed lightly on Saturday, so I wanted a dry trail to ensure a good ride. Since Green Mountain is completely exposed, it was sure to be dry.

Something clicked when I hit Wadsworth. Instinct kicked in and I turned left to head south (Green Mountain is north). For some reason, I couldn’t get Waterton Canyon out of my head.

Waterton usually isn’t dry until mid-May at the earliest. Sure, we had a dryer winter than normal, but the north-facing trail segments would still be muddy at best. My plan was to ride as far as the trail would allow. Hopefully, that would at least be to Lenny’s Rest.

What a great plan.

At the dam keeper’s house, I was stopped by six young deer munching on grass. I spent 15 minutes in awe of the animals, enjoying a green treat. At one point, they walked less than five feet from my seat. It was truly beautiful.

Four big-horned sheep greeted me 15 feet up the trail. They were absolutely massive, jumping up rocky slopes with ease. There is no shame admitting that I’m terrified of big-horned sheep. One could snap my knee and femur with a mere twitch of its neck.

Grunting and huffing up the singletrack, I was surprised to hit Lenny’s Rest with only a three-foot section of mud. At the top, a fellow rider alerted me that the entire Roxborough Loop is dry. Off I went, shaking off the cobwebs of a year without heavy mountain biking.

The ride went smoothly. At the end of the day, nature provided six deer, eight big-horn sheep and plenty of canyon and mountain beauty. A C-130 also flew overhead at one point. What a beautiful day. I need to start riding with a camera.

Mileage Update:

• Mileage Goal: 2008
• Mileage Total: 247
• Mileage Remaining: 1761

In March, I purchased a pair of Teva Keagan shoes as part of my move into a greener lifestyle. The shoes “turns trash into treasure,” featuring recycled PET canvas lining and recycled rubber outsoles.

In addition to being stylish, the Keagan is an insanely comfortable pair of shoes. I wear them a few times a week. However, a problem is creeping in after only two months. 

The recycled rubber outsoles are starting to pull away from the durable suede upper. It’s happening more on the right shoe than the left, but neither should be showing this type of wear after two short months.

On the bright side, I still love the REI Slickrock pants.

Sunday, I ran a whopping three miles in hilly Highlands Ranch. I followed that up on Monday with four more miles in Highlands Ranch. Today, my ankles still hurt.

The pain isn’t muscle soreness. It’s deeper. My foot and ankle bones hurt. If feels as if I have fractures from the ankle down. I’m really starting to hate running. Three and a half more weeks until this half-marathon nonsense is done and gone.

To avoid further suffering, the Instinct and I went for a ride tonight after work. I hopped on the Platte River bike path and headed north from Littleton to South Denver. It was an easy 10 miles round trip. On the way, I snuck up on a beautiful red fox and witnessed a blazing fire. Riding is much better than running.

The singlespeed is taking hold. I love the simplicity of one gear. It makes me really want to build up the General to spread the singlespeed joy off road.

Mileage Update:

• Mileage Goal: 2008
• Mileage Total: 230
• Mileage Remaining: 1778