Oiselle runners are gearing up for the Peachtree Road Race 10K this Friday, July 4th. For Haute Volée, Caitlin Comfort, this will be her first big race back in action. She has been battling Achilles tendonitis since March when she had to pull out of the World Half Marathon Championships (recapped here) and is now on the comeback. Read her latest below and see where you can meet Lauren Fleshman at Peachtree in Atlanta this weekend! 

First big race back in action! Why did you choose Peachtree?
Peachtree will indeed be a big one for me.  I’ve never done this race before, but I’ve heard that any professional distance runner would be crazy to not mark this one down on their calendar.  Peachtree will give me an opportunity to race against some of the fastest women in the world while prepping me for the USATF road circuit in the fall.  I have also planned to make my debut in the marathon in January, so I figured I’d get a few fast races under my belt before I really start focusing on 26.2 training.   

What has training been like both post injury and leading up to this race?
After dealing with a bout of Achilles tendonitis for nearly the entire month of March, I was able to step back, evaluate what I had learned from the injury, and move on with even more fire and grit than ever before.  Missing the World Half Champs in Copenhagen was upsetting, but it was not the end of the world and it sure as hell wasn’t the end of my running career.  Even though I would never wish this injury or anything of the sort upon anyone, I stand firm in my belief that these setbacks, although mentally, emotionally, and physically draining at times, can actually be a blessing in disguise.  With that said, I was able to start running pain free by the first week of April, and training since then has been going extremely well.  My mileage is back up, I’ve been feeling sharp in workouts, and more importantly, I’m healthy and doing all of the “little things” to make sure it stays that way. 

What are your big goals for Friday?
It took some time to get there after the injury, but I’m finally feeling fit and ready to compete.  As a professional runner, I think it’s safe to say that I would like to come back from Atlanta with a few extra bucks in the back pocket of my Mac Roga shorts.  Above all, I want to cross the finish line with complete certainty that I left everything out on the course.  If that means I placed 10, 15, or 35, then so be it.  I love to compete, and I’m looking forward to doing so to the best of my ability on Friday, July 4. 

What else is happening at Peachtree?
Joining me at Peachtree will be seven Oiselle runners including Lauren Fleshman, Mel Lawrence, Katie Randolph, Kara Millhouse, Holly Batchelder, Jennifer Simpson and Rachelle Kuramoto. If you're racing Peachtree or live in Atlanta, stop by local running store, West Stride on July 5th to meet Lauren Fleshman! She will be speaking at 10:30am. RSVP on their Facebook event page. Good luck racers!