That is not a great fare to start out your MR career with. It's decent, but not really all that special. Everyone varies on here but a general goal is to try to keep your cost per mile below 2-3 cents. For the trip to ORD you are taking, you'll get about 1300 miles each way, so 2600 total. As far as q-points go, there is a min. of 500 each segment, so you'll likely get 2000 of those, because under Q class, you only get half-credit for those flights, as it sounds like you know.
When does your challenge period end? Read the sticky on the AA forum about challenges. I think you can do better than what you've found so far. Try the Travelocity dream maps from IAH and AUS to see what you can find. The window for getting cheap int'l off-season fares to Europe is closing, but there are routinely good domestic deals that you can help you complete the challenge.