Goucher: "I was kind of in Carrie Tollefson's shadow, to be honest."

USA Track and Field hosted a media teleconference with this week's USATF Athlete of the Week, Kara Goucher. Goucher, of course, beat marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe in a half marathon last weekend. In August she earned a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Championships.

Goucher, who is currently the #6-ranked distance runner in world according to THESE comprehensive ratings computed by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians answered a wide range of questions, including those below.

You can fine the entire teleconference transcript HERE.

Q: Tell us about your race this weekend.

Goucher: It was something that was proposed to me to go run there after Osaka. My coach and I talked about it, and he said 'I think you should do it. You're prepared and there are no expectations.' I came back to Portland for 7 days after I ran in Berlin. I did a long run, and I did a 9-mile tempo run. Heading into the race we thought I could handle 5:10 [mile pace], and then I kind of kept running.

Q: Can you track your path from growing up in Duluth to Colorado?

Goucher: I started running in the 7th grade, back in Minnesota. I was kind of in Carrie Tollefson's shadow, to be honest. I won quite a few state titles, but I was second more than first. I went to the University of Colorado and loved it there. I struggled a lot with injuries the last three years, but I've been in Portland the last 3 years. I didn't go home to Minnesota for Christmas this year, for the first time. Adam and I decided to fly everybody out here so we wouldn't have to train in the cold. That turned out to be a good decision.

Q: It's been an unbelievable year for you. What sticks out as the best of all of them? How are you dealing with all of this?

Goucher: It's hard to pick a favorite moment. Running in Boulder [at the USA Cross Country Championships], I wish I would have won there. But just running there was so great. At U.S. nationals [the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships] I ran a very conservative race, but I made my first World team and was so emotional. Then it was Osaka, and that was great ... it kind of hasn't sunk in because I've been going, going, going. It's been a little bit overwhelming, but all in a good way.

Q: Any thoughts of running a marathon?

Goucher: I have to say the half-marathon is really hard. The thought of going twice as far right now, No thanks, at least right now. But there's' definitely a part of me that's intrigued now. If I could put the time in and the mileage in ... I feel like I could have handled those last two miles better. But a marathon, I'm still definitely not ready to do it.

Q: Do you know what your next plans are?

Goucher: I'm not running for a while, I'm taking a break and kind of letting my body have a rest. Because I've been running so well, it's been really hard not to see my family. We're going to go out and see Adam's family as well.