UnFREAKINGbelievable

I was graciously handed an opportunity to do a run with someone I have admired for a well over a year. He offered to run with me and my boyfriend to work out some issues I have been having with trail running.
This is something I can only imagine thousands of trail runners, ultrarunners or just your average runner that knows of him would give their nutsack to have and I would be a complete scared moron if I didn't do.
Of course I said yes, and then after a freak-out moment, I realized I was going to do this for all the runners that weren't given this chance. I asked myself over and over, "Why me? How is this happening to me?"
I called the one person I know that could fully understand what I was freaking out about, my friend Amanda who has ran nearly 20 marathons and Lord only knows how many halfs, 10k, 5k and is deep in the running community in Oregon.
"I am freaking the fuck right out!" I didn't even say hello when she answered.
"What's going on?" She asked concerned, but also single handily controlling her young children who were in the middle of a meltdown.
"I got an email from Gordon Ainsleigh and he is offering to take me running with him tomorrow."
She got control of the situation on the other side of the line and said, "Hold on...." and she began to google.
"Oh holy shit!"
"YEAH, EXACTLY!" I briefed her on the details as she continued to read up on him.
"Oh wow, he is like...yeah..damn. holy shit. WOW." is what was mixed into, "DON'T EVEN THINK OF DOING THAT! PUT THAT DOWN!"
She began trying to reassure me that I was going to do fine, he was going to be amazing, I shouldn't worry at all.
"Okay, how about this...if Prefontaine was still alive and said, 'Hey Amanda you want to go for a run tomorrow?' wouldn't you be like..."
"Yeah, okay. I would be freaking the fuck out."
We talked for a quite a bit and she calmed my nerves. She still continued to read on about his most recent run and his time. "Okay, it's not so bad...like a 14 minute mile. Oh, what's the elevation like?"
"HELL." I told her all about the trail from Auburn to Cool and 14 sounded pretty much like he was bookin' it. About 50 times faster than I can go at any point in time.
"Oh what did I agree to!?"

After the run today I called her to share the story. She had told me she was going to go out and run at the same time I was for moral support. She did the track because of rain, but there many times I was on the trail and thought of her. She's the kind of person that deserves to have this honor.
I wanted to cry as I was telling her the story, because she could understand me, the situation and what I was truly getting out of it.
I told her that Lester had asked me if I had put up the picture yet and I said, "No. not yet. Right now...this is mine and I want to hold on to it before I share it with anyone." I told her I wanted to share the story with her first, sort out the emotions and feelings and know it was alright to have something like this all to myself for a minute. She more than understood and agreed.

I told her the conversation I had with Lester the night before where he asked me, "What do you want to get out of this?" and I had to really think about it. I wanted everything, all the knowledge, the stories he could tell me...but most of all I wanted to be able to use this to inspire other people just like me. The not thin, not perfect, not fast, not the person that is in this for the ribbons or records, just a person who couldn't...and then one day she caught fire...and could.

Among the 500 things we talked about, he asked me a question at the end of our part of the trail together, before he would take off and run fast and steady. "How bad do you want it?"
I've thought about this question for hours. He didn't understand that he was asking me so much more than just about running. He stripped me down to the very core and asked me a question that by my actions up until today would have to be answered with 'almost enough'.
I want this pretty bad for only one single reason...to inspire others to find what their 'it' is out there and work to get it.

Does it get easy from here after my run with the living legend? No, I think my life is going to be a hell of a lot of hard work that up until now, 'almost enough' was good enough. It's not anymore.

I plan on writing about the day leading up to and the actual run, but right now...I have a picture and head full of questions that scare the shit out of me that I want to keep close and enjoy it.

Kristine
P.S. I wore my Vibrams after contemplating wearing my Brooks for 2 solid hours. No regrets. When I got home and tacked on another 2 and half miles I wore my Brooks and decided a mile in...I'm a barefoot runner now.