• San Francisco,
    California,
    United States
  • August
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, Virtual Race
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Stephanie Dunlap

California, United States
37 48
2019
"I Had a BALL!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Stephanie Dunlap's thoughts:

I did it! Not only did I beat last year’s Giant Race half marathon run by 45 minutes, but I earned a new postpartum PR by 5 minutes! 💥 To say the least, it was a fantastic day in San Francisco! From start to finish, there’s not a thing I would have changed.

I’ll be honest and say that lately when I travel one + hours away for a race, my go to pre-race breakfast is a McDonald’s egg and cheese biscuit with a hash-brown and coffee. I’ve been so slow lately that I figure what’s the use in fueling my body properly. *insert shoulder shrug

The morning of the Giant Race, however, I did NOT eat a McDonald’s breakfast. Instead, I made myself some overnight oats which has been my go-to breakfast as of lately. The overnight oats that I make consist of 2/3 cups of oats, 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and unsweetened almond milk covering it all. I place my overnight oats in a mason jar, take it out in the morning, microwave it for two minutes, and then place 1 tablespoon on top. It is so tasty and so filling!

On top of eating overnight oats for breakfast instead of McDonald’s, I also have made a commitment to work out every day for at least 30 minutes. I started this commitment the week before the Giant Race. Within that first week, I lost over five pounds! I’m sure this weight loss added on top of my smarter food choice made a difference in my speed and how I felt that day.

I left my house to drive to the Giant Race at 4am and arrived to Oracle Park at about 6am. Seeing the bright lights of the park among the slowly rising sun and waters of the bay was beautiful!

After soaking in the sights for a moment, I made my way to the Juan Marichal statue to meet up with Jenn (who was kind enough to pick my bib up for me the day before) and the rest of the We Run Social crew.

I ran quickly back to my car to drop off my race shirt and bobble head then quickly made my way to the starting line. Much to my surprise, up behind came two friends who had spotted me in the crowd. We lined up together and started the race together, but quickly parted ways since they were running the 10k and I was running the half marathon.

From the start of the race, I was amazed by how much better I felt compared to a year prior when I was 29 weeks pregnant! Growing a baby is hard work! Although I feel a lot better physically, I still am working on getting back in shape because my heart rate is still super high. I’ve mentioned this in prior race recaps, but I’m still running based more on heart rate versus pace. If my heart rate is up in the 190s, my head starts to pound making things not enjoyable. If I employ a run/walk strategy, but heart rate stays more manageable and my head doesn’t pound. #winwin

The highlight of my 13.1+ mile journey was seeing my friend Ashely out on course! She is the founder of Every Runner Counts. She was out on course around the 11th mile supporting every last runner with bracelets, cheers, and hugs. I love her heart and positivity!

Before I knew it, Oracle Park was in my sight and I had just run a new postpartum PR!

I grabbed some post-race water bottles / snacks, took a new picture for a side by side, and made my way to the stands to relax for a bit before make the two+ hour drive back home.

Would I return to run the Giant Race again for a third year? Yes, absolutely! See you there next year?

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