Kara Goucher, who made her marathon debut in New York with a third-place finish in 2008, is returning for the NYC Half-Marathon next Sunday, less than six months after giving birth to a son, Colt. Goucher, 32, also plans to run in the Boston Marathon on April 18; she finished third in 2009. She and her husband, Adam, train together in Portland, Ore. Last week, between fighting a bad cold and feeding Colt, she agreed to a telephone interview.

Q. Did you know what you were getting into when you signed up for Boston this soon?

A. In an ideal world, I would have a few more months. No, it’s not a perfect preparation, but I need to run another marathon. I can qualify for the trials with the half-marathon, but this is my one shot to run one before the Olympics and I’d rather have this than nothing.