RELATIONSHIPS

I'm back among the living of the blogosphere. The reason I have not posted anything new in about a week, because I didn't have much to say. I'd rather not post just to post, but want to have some "meat" to what I'm writing.

I had a great long weekend and enjoyed celebrating my birthday with friends on Friday, shopping and spending my birthday money on Saturday (visiting the local bike shop, mall, and Tri shop). On Saturday night, I went on a bike ride that was halted about mile 13 due to a flat tire. I repaired the flat and took it easy coming back home. On Sunday, I celebrated my birthday for the first time away from family and close friends. It was a little hard (okay it was really hard), but it continued to reinforce that one word that is so important to me -- relationships.

In my opinion, some people throw this word around flippantly. The fact is....the Lord created us to be in relationships. He carved out a spot deep in our soul to long to be in relationship with Him and created us to be in community with one another. I've been encouraged over the past few days as the Lord has revealed Himself and a small glimpse of who He is. He has also placed people strategically in my path to encourage me and walk beside me on the journey called life.

The title of my blog reveals a little bit of my heart. I'm seeking to find that abundant life in Christ and I've been fortunate to experience a little slice of that pie this week.

It's my BIRTHDAY!!!

In three days I will be celebrating my anniversary into the world for the 27th time!!! I am a Memorial Day baby as I was born on Sunday, May 25, 1981.

A couple fast facts about that date in world history:

• President JFK announces the Apollo space program and promises to "put an American on the moon by the end of the decade" (1961)
• Star Wars was released for the very first time (1977)
• Two airline crashes: American Airlines and China Airlines (1979 and 2002 respectively)
• Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup for the first time (1989)
• 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest (2001)

I'm really looking forward to my 28th year and the plans the Lord has for my life. It will be neat to look back next year about this time and see all of the things the Lord has blessed me with.

If you haven't had a chance to go out and get me a gift, you still have three more days. I'm sure you can catch some good Memorial Day sales. :):)

WARNING: HEAT ADVISORY

....this is what I heard on the radio when I was driving into work. We hit 100 degrees for the first time yesterday. Today we are due to top out at 109!! Summer has landed....on the surface of the sun. After hearing this message, I decided to head to gym at lunch instead of for an outside run to do a little "active" recovery from yesterday's race.

Speaking of yesterday's race, Tucson Racing posted the official results.

Total time: 3:01:29
Overall place: 293
Age group place: 24 out of 27 (humbling)

I misspoke on my final time. I miss 3 hours by 1:29. Close is not good enough. Next time, I'm shooting for a sub 3 finish.

Warm-up Race: Tempe International Triathlon (recap)

It was "warm"-ing up (first day of the year in the 100s). It was a race. And hopefully it will prepare me for the grand daddy in less than 1 month.

Yesterday's Tempe International Triathlon will be one to remember. I went into the race with one objective -- hit my splits and use it as a trainer, not a race. I accomplished all but one goal. I hit my race splits on the bike and run, but the swim was another story. It was brutality at its best. As the temperature rose throughout the day, I was able to keep my heart rate down and keep plowing forward. I finished the race a little under 3:00 (my official time has not been posted yet), which I was very excited about.

A BIG thanks to my buddy, Alex, who saved me in more than one way yesterday (see race report). He was my pit crew throughout the morning and did an awesome job at meeting me at some key points during the run and bike.

Here is a brief race report:
1500 meter swim, ~40K bike, 10K run

(NOTE: The bike leg was longer than 40K. Everyone knew that going in, but no one knew exactly how much longer. I'm going to say about 1-2K longer.)

I arrived at the course to get my transition area set up, grab my chip, and get body marked around 6:00 a.m. Everything was moving along smoothly until I went to set up my T2 area. I almost started screaming from my top of my lungs -- I had forgot my running shoes at my house. How in in the world does a triathlete/runner/someone who relies on their shoes for a race forget his running shoes?

Houston.....we have a problem. I automatically went into "Code Red" operations and started frantically calling my friend, Alex, who was meeting me for the race later that morning. I woke the poor fellow up after two phone calls and asked if he could bring me his favorite pair of running shoes. Alex's response, "Now?" "Burke, how do you forget your running shoes?" My response, "I don't know, I'm a dufus. I'll figure out the answer to that question on the course. I should have plenty of time to think about it." About 30 minutes later (~20 minutes before the start of the race), Alex arrived with 2 shoe options. I asked him which ones had the most miles on them, fearing enormous blisters if I ran in a pair of new shoes. Whew....crisis averted.

About 7:20 a.m. I entered the water with several of my "best friends" for the start of the swim. I didn't know what to expect being my first open water swim, but I had heard some stories so I was half way prepared (at least that is what I thought). When the gun went off, chaos ensued. If I wasn't hydrated before the race, I was now because I think I drank a couple gallons of Tempe Town Lake. After regaining my composure, I tried swimming behind the pack but could never get in a rhythm. About middway through the swim, I asked myself "what the heck am I doing?" I ended up gutting out the rest of the swim and exiting the water in 33 minutes, approximately 3 minutes past my goal. I was thankful to 1)be out of the water and 2)holding the damage to just 3 minutes. I thought it was much worse than that.

T1 went very well and I was off on my bike. The wind was wonderful going out and tough coming back in. The course was a 4 loop course, so you had triathletes around you the entire ride. I was able to keep my pace above 18 miles per hour while holding my heart rate in the low 170s. We crossed a bridge 8 times over the lake and every time I praised the Lord that He did not let me drown in that lake.

T2 was rather uneventful, but quick. Alex was there to take some of my nutrition that I would need out on the run course. The temperature was rising so I wanted to take it slow out of the box and save some energy for the last few miles. I ran 9-10 minute miles for the first 5 miles and with one mile to go, my body said, "let's head home." I don't know what happened, but I got this really cool burst of energy and ran my last mile in 7 minutes. Yes -- goals accomplished, another race in the books.

Thanks again to Alex for being my fluid support and shoe sponsor yesterday!!

Lessons Learned:

• Gear checks -- preferably more than once (don't forget your shoes)
• It's not how you start the race; it's how you end it. I was the picture of that yesterday.
• Swim, swim, swim -- I need to work on my swim.
• Triathletes are wierd human beings and I'm one of them. As Alex put it, "there are some 'interesting' people out here."
• Professional triathletes are super human machines. It was fun competing side by side on the course with them even though they flew past me like I was standing still.

Here's to more tri fun in mid-June with 5 friends from Houston -- looking forward to it gentlemen.

Friday Funnies: One Semester of Spanish - Spanish Love Song

A friend of mine -- Joey -- shared this with me. He knows me way too well. He also knows what I find absolutely hilarious. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Watch it all the way through...you will not be disappointed, especially when he starts "counting."

Book Review - FISH

Last night, I finished reading FISH -- a modern business parable set in Seattle and Pike Place Fish Market. The book outlines the principles that turned the Pike Place Fish Market from a normal marketplace into a world renown attraction. It is a short, fun read with several principles that you can apply to your daily life and the business world.

A couple takeaways from the book:

• Be Present -- I'm horrible at this. Sometimes I get involved in too many activities, spreading myself thin, and can't give my full and undivided attention to the activity I'm participating in. But I'm working on being present.


• You Choose Your Attitude -- Absolutely, I agree. Everyday I have a choice. What is my choice going to be? How am I going to serve the Lord? How will I bring excellence to everything I do throughout the day? Tough questions....if you really take time to think about them.

If you are looking for a quick read that will challenge you, I would suggest this book. You will not find anything groundbreaking, but it will reiterate some truths in a fun and entertaining way. I also suggest you visit Pike Place Market before reading the book -- it will make the book a lot more fun to read.

Thanks KB for the book!!

"It's not what you say...

...it's what people hear." Have you ever heard this phrase?

I learned a valuable lesson a couple nights ago that illustrates the truth of this statement.

On Monday night, I had a baseball game and YoungLife club after work. I needed to leave the game early due to YoungLife so in the middle of the game I told my kids that I needed to leave early to attend an "engagement." (Now don't ask why I used this huge word with 8-10 year old kids, but I'm synonymous for stuff like that -- stupid me) One of my kids -- let's call him "Nails" because that's the nickname I gave him -- only heard the word "engagement" and popped up in excitement and asked me "Coach B, are you getting married?" Without having time to respond, "Nails" proceeds to shout (very audibly) to the rest of his teammates -- "Guys, Coach B is getting married!" At this point, the dugout is in utter chaos. After a few minutes I was able to calm them down and, unfortunately, had to squelch their excitement over me getting married.

But it reminded me why I do what I do.

This is why I love coaching baseball. This is why I love working with kids. It's because they see life through another set of lenses. It's because they see life through the past 8-10 years, not the past 26 like me. It's because they cling to huge hopes and big dreams and in the process give me the courage to pursue my hopes and dreams. I don't remember much about being 10 years old, but I do remember growing up on the baseball diamond and learning many of life's important lessons under the hot Texas sun playing America's pasttime. What a true joy it is to teach the game of baseball to the generation of tomorrow!

This year's baseball season draws to a close tonight, but the memories of these 11 kids will not quickly fade. Each one of them has deeply touched my life in their own special way.

Seattle Trip

What a WEEKEND? I had so much fun this weekend visiting KB and her friends (David and Christa) in Seattle. If you ever get the chance to go to Seattle, you want KB as your tour guide. She was the greatest! We packed more activities into three days than you would have ever thought possible. I'm very tired, but I would not trade myexperience for anything.

I might not ever move to Seattle, but I will definitely visit again. The culture, the majestic mountains, and the outdoor activities alone will be enough to bring my back to the Pacific Northwest again.

Some highlights from the trip include (in no particular order):

• Trips to the Original Starbucks (several)
• Experiencing Pike Place Market
• Scenic overlook in Queen Anne (absolutely breathtaking)
• Eating at dives, bakeries, and great seafood places throughout the weekend
• Hiking Rattlesnake Ledge Trail -- great view from the vista
• Hanging out with KB, David, and Christa -- fun people
• Hearing Mark Driscoll speak at Mars Hill Church
• Experiencing the Sunday Farmers Market in Ballard
• The Troll
• Lake Union boat ride
• Shopping at the REI mothership store - impressive
• Seeing Mount Rainier from my airplane window

Here is a brief slideshow chronicling my trip:

You can also view or download any of my photos from this link. (Click here)

Sleepless in Seattle (at night)

What a day!! I will post more pictures later, but I wanted you to take in Seattle at night.

Here is a picture that I took from the Upper Queen Anne area in Kerry Park -- absolutely breathtaking.

Sleepless in Seattle - Day 1

Today was Day 1 in Seattle and, as expected, we are having a BLAST!!! KB and I got up this morning for a little run by the Sound (Puget Sound that is). I did a little 5 mile out and back while KB kept it simple with a little 2 1/2 mile run. I have to give KB another shout out because her hospitality has been MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED. I was greeted last night with a cozy room in the Suite by the Sound, complete with a complimentary Mini-Bar Basket. Look at all of the goodies she filled it in with....she definitely knows me well.

After cleaning up after our morning run, we headed off to Pike Place Market. Our first stop....THE ORIGINAL STARBUCKS!! Here is me ordering my Venti Pike Place brew, double cupped with no room. Beautiful, almost heavenly.

"Get in my belly!!"

Having a little fun in the market -- maybe it's the coffee -- no, I'm just crazy.

A look down through Pike Place Market

"Buskers" -- traveling musicians who pay a yearly fee to play throughout the city --The Slimpickins were definitely my favorite. I'm going to be looking them up on iTunes!!

Space Needle - tall?? Hummm...I envisioned it being much, much taller.

We then took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island -- very quaint island life west of Seattle. For some reason I really loved this picture. It really personifies coastal life in the Pacific Northwest.

"The Pub" (as the locals call it) was our lunch location of choice on Bainbridge Island. It was very yummy!!

Not pictured is our trip to Mora's Ice Creamery which was delicious. We had to catch the ferry to get back to Seattle so we were running throughout the streets to grab a little snack before getting back to the ferry.

Our day is certainly not over and trip is just beginning. More and more pictures to come soon!!

Sleepless in Seattle,

pbw

Sleepless in Seattle???

You betcha because there are so many things to see and so little time to see them in. Yes, my friends, my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. Another rendevous with my favorite airline the in the whole wide world -- Southwest Airlines. (I'm also partial to my friends over at Continental).

Tonight, I leave for a three day weekend in the Emerald City visiting my friend, KB!! KB is such a gracious host and I'm looking forward to seeing "her world" for a couple days. She has got our agenda jam packed which plays well with my personality. Let's go, let's see, let's have a great time and maximize these three days.

A brief disclaimer from my tour guide:

...it [the agenda] can be revised at your whim, but I hold ultimate line item veto power, this is not a democracy, this is a tour-ocracy and I'm the reigning tour-o-crat...Bottom line, get ready for a great adventure...I've kinda overpacked the agenda (emphasis added)...so don't be surprised if there isn't a checkmark by everything, that doesn't mean we won't still have the bestest weekend getaway ever.

Here are some of places we have on our agenda to visit along with a preview of my accomodations:

• ORIGINAL Starbucks' -- Is there anything better than a trip to the original Starbucks?
• Safeco Field for a Mariners' game vs. Chi Sox
• Pike Place Market for breakfast and a little fish catching
• REI Mothership Store -- good thing I get paid tomorrow
• Bainbridge Island
• Seattle's historic Pioneer Square
• Belltown nightlife
• Cascade Mountains
• Snoqualmie Falls
• Macrina Bakery
• Driving tour of the city
• Mars Hill Church with Pastor Mark Driscoll
• Old Town Ballard Farmer's Market

My accomodations -- Suite by the Sound -- Five star quality room complete with a FREE mini bar and welcome basket.

Additonally, my tour guide was gracious enough to schedule training time into my agenda so that I can stay on track. She even included some motivational quotes like "get up you lazy slacker" and "your competition is not on vacation" to push me through a couple weekend runs.

On top of all of this fun, I'm going to meet David and Christa -- two of KB's Seattle friends. IT WILL BE A BLAST!!!

Watch for updates and pictures throughout the trip.

Values?

I'm challenged today by this question (thanks Jason!):

"If one of the ways we show what we value is by how much time we give it, then what would you (those closest to you) say I (you) really value in this season of my (your) life?"

To tell you the truth, I don't think I'd like to hear some of the answers my friends and family (if they were completely honest) would give me. How 'bout yourself? I want to do some serious reflection on this topic in the coming weeks. I'll let you know where I land. In the meantime, feel free to call me/e-mail me and challenge me. I'd love to hear your feedback.

It's Uncle Burke Brag Time!!

Many of you who read my blog might know about my newborn niece - Mallory Belle Wilson. My parents (i.e. my dad) sent me this picture of baby MalGal and my puppy Sammy (who has convinced herself that she is human as well). She loves to twirl her hair with her hands. You will understand what I mean when you see the picture.

I LOVE MALLORY SO MUCH!! SHE IS SO STINKIN' CUTE!!! (She must take after her uncle)But don't get to see her as much as I'd like. I hope that changes in the near future. Without further ado....here are the latest pictures!

Best Day of the Month

I arrived home last night after a long day at work and YoungLife. I crawled into bed around 10:00 p.m. with what I thought was my newest magazine subscription. I thought a kind and thoughtful person had sent me an early birthday gift (May 25....hint,hint) -- a subscription to Men's Health. Now, I'd much prefer a sub to Triathlete Mag or Bicycling, but hey I'm not complaining. Momma always told me that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

I love magazines for two reasons: 1) they are short and 2) they are easy to transport for long road trips or plane rides. This bodes well for me because of 1) my ADD personality and 2) strong propensity to hop a plane and travel the world at a moments notice.

Sidenote: The only place my magazines don't go is the bathroom. To me, that's absolutely disgusting. I'm in there to do my business and nothing else -- probably more information than you ever cared to know, but my blog is all about honesty.

Anyhow, on to the original point of my post. :) As I crawled into bed, I was excited about my new reading material only to have a horrific discovery -- the front cover read Women's Health. AHHH!! What?!?

My birthday surprise soon turned southward as thoughts raced through my head about how I was going to get some evil person back for this AWFUL prank!! Now, my friends are not evil, but they are very clever and I would not put it past any of them to think of such a horrible trick. Once my blood pressure came back down to normal, I ripped open the package and see if I could find out who sent me this magazine.

Almost immediately, my horror turned into joy as the Women's Health cover fell on the floor uncovering the greatest sight I've seen this week -- my monthly RUNNER'S WORLD magazine. WOO HOO!! I look forward to this day all month long and it came just at the right time. I celebrated the arrival of the May issue and after a brief skim through I fell asleep more easily. Now, I've just got to avoid that baby until Thursday. I don't want to read all of it before my trip, that would be tragedy.

Keep running the race,

pbw

A note to the people at Runner's World -- why did you put an advertisement for Women's Health in front of your magazine? If anyone could fill me in on this, I'd greatly appreciate it. In my humble opinion, your magazine is far superior and needs to stand alone.

A note to those who are wondering why I get so excited about receiving reading material showing me how running can be "fun" -- let's schedule lunch or coffee, then you'll get a first hand glimpse into my craziness.

Scottsdale's Night Run for the Arts: Race Results

I finished in the Top 25 (overall) this weekend in the Scottsdale Night Run for the Arts. I started out way too fast, but was able to back off, lower my heart rate and hang on. After the field started spreading out, I only got passed three times -- which in my mind was not bad. I laughed at myself at the end, because I wanted to use the run to pace myself. Instead, I ended up wanting to compete as soon as the gun went off. That is a little bit of my personality coming out. I want to be competitive in everything I do from a backyard football game to a huge race. Once that gun goes off, my adrenaline starts pumping and my mind starts thinking about nothing else but doing my very best.

One final note, racing in the dark is quite an experience. I lost all perception of distance while I was out on the course on Saturday night.

Here are the stats from the race:

Chip time: 33:15
Overall place: 25
Age group place: 6

Training Update: Ironman 70.3 Kansas

Today's SWIM workout was a good one.

Warm-up: 6 x 50 yards
Main workout:

• 400 yards (target pace)
• 4 x 25 (fast)
• 300 yards (target pace)
• 3 x 25 (fast)
• 200 yards (target pace)
• 2 x 25 fast
• 100 yards (target pace)

Cool Down: 200 yards (easy kicks and swims)

Total — 1725 yards

Friday Funnies

I don't have a video to share with this week's "Friday Funnies" post. But I do have a pretty humorous story. On Wednesday, my Little League baseball team played the D-Backs (one of two other teams in the league). Anyhow, I normally don't let my players go to the restroom in between innings except when I'm in the dugout. If you let the cats out of the cage, it's hard to wrangle them back in. However, this situation called for an exception. One of my kids came running off the field screaming, "Coach, can I got to the bathroom?" I relented and let him go -- we still had some time between innings. But I forgot to check the lineup to see if he would be coming up to bat. Soon, the umpire yelled "Play Ball" and my batter was no where to be found. My assistant coach came over and explained that Austin was still in the restroom. I looked over and there he was -- locked out because someone else was using the only restroom in the park. I looked at him, and with a face only a momma could love, he explained, "Coach, I've got to go really bad." The umpire asks me what is the hold up and I'm stalling as much as possible. Meanwhile, Austin is taking his sweet time in the restroom. We must have stood there for 5-7 minutes waiting patiently for Austin to come out as my parents laughed and asked what takes a little boy so long to go #1. :)

Ahhh...such has been my year of coaching. Full of many ups and downs and stories I will be able to share for the rest of my life. I told my baseball parents and I will tell you....be on the lookout for my memoir coming out in about 10 more years. The title will be something along the lines of "Everything I ever wanted to learn in life, I learned coaching Little League baseball"

Have a great weekend!
pbw