I exceeded last week's 10K with a fairly strong performance today. Never laboring, I hammered out 7 miles at a bout 8:30 a mile. Had a few lapses where I felt the need to slow down but with about 10 minutes left in my workout, I caught by second wind and progressed nicely to the finish. No races or me this weekend but plenty of sunshine to soak up. Definitely cigar weather - expect some write ups and video.
As the photo below illustrates, there is life beyond our earth. Last night I was walking in this field near my house admiring the green weeds they call grass here in Colorado. Upon inspection this morning the same field had these white lines in a pattern similar to that of a crop circle. Clearly a space craft landed here and these marks were made as it departed. The white posts in the photo could very well be some sort of docking station for said space craft. Tonight after the soccer game I'm going to cut the posts down hoping that they are made from extraterrestrial metal.
GOOOOOOOOOAL!
The Colorado Rapids in first place of MLS Western COnference with a Thurday night victory over Real (re/al) Salt Lake courtesy of Colin Clark to Omar Cummings in the 83rd minute. Christian Gomez later added a goal off a penalty kick in the 86th minute. I have to say, I was impressed with The Rapids new home stadium, DICK's Sporting Goods Park and the excitment Colorado fans have for this emerging sport.
Since the kickboxing routine has started, my focus has shifted away from running. This was bad news as I remembered on Tuesday that I had a 10K coming up on Saturday. So with only one run under my belt for the week, needless to say I wasn't exactly expecting a knock out time.
But folks, that's why you run the race. As my Nike+ time proves, I hammered out the 6.2 mile course on a picture perfect morning in Central Park in a respectable time, even coming in at one mile marker under 7 minutes. I have to say the iPod does wonders out there on the course and I love how the last half mile had the theme to Rocky blaring in my headphones. The visual of him running through the streets of Philadelphia was racing through my mind and really helped as I toughed out the last 800m.
Since I was 14 I have been fairly active when it comes to working out. That's when I was first introduced to the marvels of weight training and thanks to good genetics and a blue-collar type work ethic, I began to transform my body and lay the foundation for years to come. My exploits from the days at the mythical Summit in Airmont, NY to my time spent with Shane the House of Pain in Syracuse's Weight Club are constantly topics of conversations with friends, particularly when amongst those who were active participants.
But.
I think I may have stumbled upon the one workout routine/regimine that has been the most satisfying, excruciating, and FUN of them all. About a month ago, my dear wife Emily convinced me to go along with her to check out kickboxing as our means of getting ourselves back into prime physical condition. Already, I had become fairly set in my ways with running, as evident by the various updates posted on the site. We checked out Club KO, a small chain of fitness centers in Northern NJ and saw what looked to be a very demanding and kinetic workout. Emily, a second degree black belt in Taekwando, lit up watching the class as they attacked the heavy bags. Judgin by the sweat pouring from the participants, it looked like a good workout, but I never really got excited about fitness classes and was a bit leery.
That all changed when we took our free trial class at the Wallington location a week later - I was instantly hooked and so was Emily. Burning up to 1000 calories a workout, the class incorporates Thai boxing, calestenics and an intensive ab workout. Em and I have been going 4 nights a week and I am really impressed with the results. The best part is that it is never the same workout and each instructor, some trained in MMA, some more fitness oriented, bring something different to the table. But the end remains the same, we struggle to get into our cars and up the stairs after each workout, exhausted by the sessions.
We are totally hooked and love it. I often find myself looking to kick something in my path on a daily basis and jones for the workouts each night!
Tall, dark and handsome. Words often used to describe Italian men (present company included on occasion) and certainly should be used to describe the CAO Italia Piazza. At 6x60, the Piazza is a full-bodied smoke with deep brown wrapper from Honduras. But what is dear to my heart is the fact that CAO infuses filler from the Benevento region of Italy. Flavorful and substantial, the cigar burns and ashes beautifully. To compliment, I paired it with a Stone IPA, brewed in San Diego, CA. The boastful hoppiness and bitterness of the beer married well with the cigar. Perfect combination on this beautiful day here in New Jersey.
I enjoyed the CAO Italia Novella a while back and glad to see the consistency in quality from this Italia line.
(Photo by Jose Gotia for the New York Times)
The headline was hard for me to pass up as I was commuting into New York yesterday morning. While I try to focus on politics, health care and the oil industry when reading the New York Times every morning, my eyes gravitated immediately to the story about the boost in consumerism in that time warped country 90 miles south of Florida - Cuba.
Cubans with means can now purchase appliances like rice cookers. And that's who a revolution starts these days - buying power. As Raul Castro, the 76-year-old brother of the bearded one, tries to bring Cuba into the 21st century in the same fashion as his communist brethren in China, the question popped into my head - how will this help the cigar companies.
The article states that one of the changes under Raul has been to allow "farmers the right to manage unused land for profit." That could be key for the cigar companies, as many have left Cuba to make their riches in other countries and as we have seen firsthand, competing countries like Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have matched Cuba's notoriety, quality and overall excellence.
With cigar maestros leaving for greener pastures, pun intended. perhaps Raul will take a different approach in managing the tobacco industry to bring Cuban cigars back to its glorious past.
Matt Caruso
You know we have spoken highly about the Diploma line from Camacho. We hear that they have some new products coming out and can't wait to spark them up.
So, the phone rings last Wednesday and
WHAT's NOT TO LOVE is on the hook. My boy Matt Rosen invites me down for an event with Bill McKay from Leftover Salmon hosted by Los Blancos Cigars. I stroll in and everyone is like…where did you get those Nike SB's? I told them only two were made and John Mayer has the other. No really, I hit the humidor and meet the Los Blancos Rep. I discussed with him the pleasantries of the Double Corona Maduro and the lesser points as well. As I previously written, I was suspect that a smaller smoke would reveal the true characteristics of this boutique brand. Low and behold, the master has spoken. 
The Criollo Robusto was kicking ass and taking names. A firm texture and pungent aroma lead to a consistent draw, burn and a firm ash that lasted almost the whole duration of the smoke, I only ashed it twiced. With a forward pepper spice on the tongue & pallette this smoke needed the compliment of a single malt or even a Grand Marnier. Just something to tweak the pepper and bring out the real nuttyness of this smoke.
Los Blancos, Muy Bien! Oh, special thanks to Bill Mckay, great sounds bro, great sounds.
Jason
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