I decided on this route due to it's proximity to home and it's simplicity. The route seemed easy to find, easy to follow and a decent trail for a 25mile ish training run plan. I woke up at 4:15 and drove out the Cabin John Local Park and prepared my pack with all the required gear for my upcoming 200 miler, plus 1L of water and gels for the day. It was quite a but heavier than I'd need for 17ish miles but I wanted to make the most of the miles and the heat/ humidity.
I struggled for a moment to determine the exact trail head and start spot but got it and nervously checked my watch and Caltopo app for the first 1/2 mile or so, until it was clear the trail was well marked and easy to follow. About 1.4 miles in you pop out to a road and you travel the sidewalk to the next piece of trail for about a mile or less, then you cross to major roads at an intersection and fly down 1/2 mile of paved trail. The trail was enjoyable, wide, mostly dry and rolling hills.
As I approached the second hour I began to pick up my pace as I felt well and was finding my groove. I decided I wanted to finish in sub 3 hr and I knew it'd be close. It felt good to speed up so I rolled with it. I made it to the turn around in 1:29 minutes, snapped a photo and headed back, keeping my pace strong and steady. I was drenched with sweat, the humidity was intense, but the sun was not out so I continued to slurp my gels and drink my Hyperlyte/ Tailwind combo,
As I crossed into the second hour I was still feeling solid, my average pace was dropping and so I kept pushing. Around the 2:35 min timeframe I knew I was in the the final stretch which had more twists and turns and more ups and downs. I tried to keep pace but felt myself slowing on the climbs. I was soaked with sweat as I pushed my way to the trailhead sign at 2:56... only... I couldn't stop my watch. I was so sweaty I couldn't get the dial to spin, when it finally did I spun to the map an it locked me out again. I struggled, hoping to stop it. So, quickly I tried to snap a photo for the timestamp but my photo was damp too so I struggled with that for a few seconds, trying to wipe it down enough. I got the photo but still couldn't stop my watch. I decided to run to my car, just up the hill so I could dry things off. I wiped the watch dry and stopped the clock at 2:58:44, still safely under the 3 hour goal. Pheww! What a nice little adventure! I then went out for a few more miles to finish my training.