To help encourage my mother to be more active, I wanted her to bike along side of me this year and we would do the run on the paved w&od trail in northern VA. She was up for it (well not ALL of the miles) but last week she got the flu and decided it would probably be best that she didn’t try it as she had been sick and weak the whole week. No biggie. I still mapped it out to where I would do the run on the trail and I found her spots to where she would meet me in her car like she has done in all the previous years.

Well, last night it decided to snow about 1-2 inches. Our early morning start got delayed since she lives more in the mountains than I do and got more snow. Since we would be leaving later, I decided to just run around town as the trail would more than likely be covered in snow and the roads here would be plowed. I mapped out a route leaving from my house, doing an out and back on Rt.11 north into WV and ending at a shopping center.

(my mother and I at the start)

10:15 and I’m off. I packed all of my stuff in the trunk of my mother’s car and I made my way through town before hitting Rt.11 so that I could get in a couple extra miles. The plan was for her to meet me either at the WV line or 10 miles past the stopping point…whichever came first. I was bundled up since the temp was about 32 and I carried with me a handheld bottle containing grape flavored Propel with chia seeds. I sipped very little water and took 3 Powerbar Gel Blasts just after mile 7.

I connected with my mother just over the WV line and a little past mile 11. By this time, I couldn’t feel my hands as they were cold and wet so I changed gloves, ate a couple handfuls of an almond/m&m mixture, topped off the bottle and set off again. Not even 2 miles later, my hands were still numb. (Thanks for cursing me, Raynauds) Carrying a bottle of water was not helping matters at all so I decided to ditch it. I know that I can comfortably go 20 miles without fluids so I wasn’t too concerned. Within the next 3 miles or so, feeling came back to my hands which was great as I was getting scared that I might have to end the run early because of it.

The next stop was just after mile 21. I had a short sleeve shirt under my long sleeve that became cold and sweaty which in turn started to bring my body temp down. I decided it would be best if I changed into a dry shirt so I wouldn’t go hypothermic. I had my mom crank up the heat in her car so I sat while I drank some Powerade, nibbled on a pb&j sandwich and just tried to get warm. I honestly didn’t want to get out of the car. The plan was to meet again in about another 7 miles. (just under 13 to go)

I mentally broke up this next section into 2 parts. The “marathon” and then the 1.8 miles after it. I tried not to look at my watch too much, but it’s hard when there really isn’t too much other stuff to do. When I hit the marathon distance, I hit the lap on my Garmin so that I could analyze the stats later. (3:00:20 of running time and 3:23:32 with the stops)
Not too long after that, it started to mist. It didn’t really bother me too much except that it was making my glasses wet and hard to see until I took them off and cleaned them.

Mile 28-something I met up with my mother again. I hopped in the car, finished my sandwich and Powerade from earlier and took a few sips of a Pepsi. I changed out of my ski cap and put on my Brooks hat to try and block out some of the rain from my hitting my glasses. I was still feeling OK, but I knew I might be fading soon. We originally planned for me to just run the remaining 5+ miles to the end but my mother asked if I wanted her to stop 3 miles up ahead just in case. I thought that was a good idea as I could always wave her off if I didn’t need her.

Turns out it was an excellent idea. Right around the 31st mile, I started to hit a wall. I was getting really thirsty and winded so I was happy to see her car and grab some more Powerade. It was exactly 31.4 miles in so I only had 2.6 miles to go. As simple as it sounds, that little stop helped so much.

The last 2.6 were just mind over matter. I just wanted to finish and that’s the only thing that got me through. I tried to picture the Boston Marathon and use that as motivation to finish strong and not wimp out. I got the the parking lot and was greeted by my father and my grandfather (and of course my mother)
We were there for all of about 2 minutes when the skies opened up and it started to sleet. The timing couldn’t have been any better.

(my grandfather, my father and myself. L-R)

I am very pleased with today’s run. I am very happy with how strong yet relaxed I felt through the whole thing. I guess that’s what you get after multiple months of great training.

actual running time: 3:55:54 (6:54 pace)
overall time including stops: 4:38:20 (8:09)

Quickest mile: mile 27 at 6:45
Slowest mile: mile 34 at 7:22

Garmin stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286135438

(first stop at mile 10)

I have been super nervous for more than the past week about this run. I thought I didn’t have enough longer (20+ mile) runs under my belt. My last significant run over 15 miles was at the Disney Marathon in January.

Same as the past 2 years, my mother would serve as my crew and drive ahead, stopping at predetermined spots with my supplies in her car.
After just 4 hours of sleep do to a gig last night, I met her at 8:00am in downtown Harrisonburg, VA (where my gig was) and the plan was for me to run 33 miles north on Rt.11 headed towards Winchester. Coincidentally, the finishing town (Edinburg, Va) would be just a few miles of where I started the very first one just 2 years ago.

(mom and I at the start)

8:02 and I’m off. The weather is beyond perfect. 57 degrees, cloudy and no wind. It was as if I had planned it out. I carried a handheld bottle of water made my way north. I don’t think I have ever driven this section of Rt. 11 before so all of the scenery was brand new. The downside, is that I didn’t know how hilly the first few miles were. Although they weren’t huge hills, it was one after another and I started to freak out every time I would feel any kind of discomfort in my muscles. In a round about way, I was psyching myself out. The first 10 miles seemed to click off easily and consistently. The first mile (would would end up being my slowest of the day) was a 7:07 and the rest were right at the 7:00 mark. They felt good, effortless and easy so I went with it.

Mile 10: This was my first stop. I met my mother on the side of the road and added watered down Gatorade to my bottle while taking in a few PowerBar Energy Blasts. I made note of how humid it already was and told her to meet me in 8 more miles. Before I left, I filled up my water bottle pocket with more Energy Blasts that I would end up taking every 2 miles for both energy and to give me something to look forward to. The terrain never changed. It continued to be more rolling hills. I started to feel better and better and it showed as my pace was slowly dropping. In this stretch, all my miles were under 7:00 with the quickest one being mile 16 at 6:46.

Mile 18: This next stop was in the first “real” town since I left…complete with stoplights, sidewalks and maybe a gas station or two. I refilled my bottle with more watered down Gatorade, ate half of an Energy Power Bar, a handful of trail mix and just chatted up with my mother for a bit. I was still feeling great but I knew that I still had plenty more time to fall apart so I tried not to get my hopes up. I requested that my mother pick me up a Pepsi before the next stop just so I could add a little flavor and caffeine to the mix. The plan was to meet again in 6 miles.
This next section flattened out quite a bit which was very much welcomed. Once again, the pace dropped but I believe I was just putting in the same effort with an easier course. This whole run so far has been very scenic. Farmland, fields, cattle, and horses all while having a huge mountain range to my right. Not to mention, the beautiful weather…it was actually very enjoyable. The last 2 miles of this section (miles 23 & 24) would end up being the quickest 2 miles of the whole run with each of them at 6:44.

Mile 24: I came in to meet my mother and the first words out of my mouth were “I feel amazing.” I couldn’t believe how great my legs, body and mind were holding up. It felt, up to that point, that I had only run 1/2 of the miles that were showing on my Garmin. I refilled the same as the previous stop but added in a couple small sips of the Pepsi. That hit the spot. I also took this opportunity to change out of my sweat-soaked shirt and put on a dry singlet as the temps hard begun to rise. We planned on meeting again in 5 more miles, with the hopes that it would be the last stop before the finish. In this next stretch, I passed the marathon distance and hit the lap button on my watch so that I could analyze the data later. I ended up going through in 3:24 with the stops and 3:01 of just running time. Again, the miles were just clicking away and I was feeling amazing.

(arriving at the 24th mile)

MIle 29: This would be my final stop of the day. Joining my mother at this stop was my brother and my niece & nephew. I was a little winded and tired from the huge hill I that I had just climbed but I was still in great spirits. I knew that I had this run in the bag and I was excited to get to the finish and have it finally completed. The next 4 miles were kind of a blur. I was just starting to hurt, but yet I was able to keep my pace and finished strong.

(leaving mile 29 with just 4 more miles to go)

Finish: I’m done. 33 miles. I was greeted by my mom, dad, brother, niece, nephew and Rebekah. I got a little emotional when I realized it was finally over and did the obligatory post-birthday-run-exhaustion collapse.
I can’t even tell you how great this run was from start to finish. I felt strong and in control the whole way. Heck, I even managed to negative split it! (run the second 1/2 quicker than the first 1/2) Deep down inside, I had this very ambitious goal of averaging a sub 7:00 pace for the actual running portion of the run. I far exceeded that goal by averaging a 6:53 and I’m still in shock.

(nearing the finish)

(hurting)
(Top 2 photos by: Rebekah Gonzalez)

Thanks to everyone for all of the support and motivation over the last year. You all mean so much to me!

Garmin data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/159225224

-Actual running time: 3:47:38
-Overall time with stops: 4:18:18
-No walking
-Quickest mile: 6:44 (miles 23 & 24) Slowest mile: 7:07 (mile 1)

-Last year’s stats for reference….32 miles
-Quickest mile 7:08 Slowest mile: 8:58
-Total time w/ the stops: 4:33
-Total running time: 4:02

(pic of my watch and time)

The plan was the same as last year. My mother would drop me off 32 miles outside of town and I would run back and she would act as my crew; stopping at predetermined spots along the route and carrying my supplies.

Mile 0 - 7:58 - I was off. Starting just on the other side of the Potomac River in Williamsport, Maryland (so I could run through 3 states) it was a cool 51 degrees so I was dressed in shorts, arm warmers, singlet and a t-shirt over top. I carried a handheld bottle filled with grape Propel mixed with chia seeds.

Mile 5.5 - Was the first of the planned stops. Since the temp was already starting to rise, I shed my arm warmers and t-shirt and threw them to my mother without missing a step. I told her, while passing, to meet me in 5 more miles. At this point, I proceeded to eat 5 PoweBar Gel Blasts.

Mile 10.8 - This would be my first real stop to where I would swap bottles and do whatever else I needed. She already had my second bottle with the same mixture filled, so I just replenished my Gel Blasts and headed off. At this point, I was really fearing the rest of the run. My legs felt as though I had already run twice the distance, this was too early for that. I was hoping that they would either loosen up or stay the same…anything but get worse. I consumed 5 more Blasts.

Mile 15.8 - After running through the town of Martinsburg and having to stop a few times for traffic lights, I got to the other side of town and met mom once again. I told her as soon as I got there: “The good thing is, I’m halfway done. The bad thing is, my legs feel like they already have 26 miles on them.” As much as I tried to ignore the pain, it was very much starting to get to me. I refilled with plain water, took a swig of Pepsi and ate 1/2 of a PowerBar Triple Threat. I told her to stop a little over 5 more miles up, hoping it would be right at 21. Just after the 16th mile, I managed to eat the remaining few Gel Blasts that were in the pocket of my handheld bottle. It was also a nice surprise to see Rebekah on the side of the road taking pics and cheering me on. I told her my mother was a few miles up ahead so she caught up with us at the next stop.

(somewhere in WV)

Mile 20.75 - Heading into this stop, I was keeping a really nice and steady pace. I had a 7:15 average despite the heaviness from my legs. At this stop, I ate 1/2 of a pb&j sandwich, a few Baked Doritos, had another swig of Pepsi, filled my bottle with watered down Gatorade, wiped my face with a wet washcloth and grabbed my iPod. The iPod was a great motivation-booster and I’m glad I saved it for this late in the run. But the iPod couldn’t save what would be coming up just a few miles later. Yes, “the wall” found me and he found me much earlier than I had wanted. At the 24th mile, my legs had enough. Despite all but a handful of miles being under 7:20, I was forced to walk. At first it was just once, causing the 24th mile to be 7:54 which had me on the verge of tears when meeting my mother at the next stop.

Mile 25 - I won’t lie. I was feeling really miserable by this point. I knew I only had 7 miles left but I was almost ready to call it. As the temp rose, my fluids weren’t lasting as long so I filled up with more Gatorade, packed some Gu chomps and rested a bit as my mother massaged my on-the-verge-of-cramping calves. I also tried eating the rest of my pb&j sandwich but I couldn’t get in more than 2 bites. Just as I was leaving the stop, I passed my grandparents on their way to meet up with my mother. They quickly turned around so that they could pass me again and yell encouraging words to me across the road. Mile 26 somehow managed to be a decent pace, but I think I paid for it as mile 27 would be my slowest of the day. For some reason, my body wanted to walk and my head agreed.

Mile 28 - Fighting back a ton of emotions, I got to this stop and was greeted by mom, my grandparents and Rebekah. I decided to change shoes and socks as the bottom of my feet were really hurting. I took off my Injinjis and black Brooks Launch to put on regular running socks with a pair of red Brooks Launch. I know it’s the same shoe, but I must have broken them in differently as they didn’t rub in the same spots. Big difference. I ate a banana, refilled my bottle and told my mother too meet me in 2 miles.

Mile 30.2 - I know it’s not too far from the last stop, but just being able to stop again was a huge difference. I had been walking more and more in the last 4+ miles so they seemed to really drag on and it made them painful. I don’t think i even refilled anything. I just told my mother that I’d see her at the finish.

Mile 32.2 The finish. The last couple miles were the easiest since mile 24. I guess my body knew it was almost quitting time. I arrived in the parking lot of a huge shopping center and was greeted by my mother, father, step-mother, her mom, my grandparents, Rebekah and her youngest girl. Nothing beats the cheering at the end of a run; even if it’s only a handful of people. They let me do my thing (cry and collapse) before they showered me with hugs, congratulatory words and birthday presents. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family!

(collapsing at the finish)

In conclusion: This was by far the toughest run I have ever done. I learned so much about myself and had to dig deeper to complete this than I have ever reached inside of myself before. Having the temps rise so much over the 4+ hours and with a constant 15-20mph wind really made for one difficult run. It was not only physically challenging, it was mentally challenging as well. Thanks to my family and friends for the love and support. You guys/gals are the ones that keep me going from day to day!

Total elevation gain: 2659 loss: 2312
Temp at the start: 51 Temp at finish: 77
Quickest mile w/o a stop: 7:08 (mile 8)
Slowest mile: 8:58 (mile 27)
Total time including the stops: 4:33
Total running time: 4:02

After a few scheduling conflicts, we finally got a chance to get together and do a shoot. We had a very limited time frame and we were restricted to only one location. The park.

As she was casually braving the cold, I was bundled up in a coat, hat and gloves. I was still not warm. I don’t know how she didn’t freeze or even make it look like she was cold.

The closed-in slide was perfect for a natural frame around her.

The shoot took place at their old farm house during one of the coldest days so far of the season. Everyone hung in there wonderfully, even for the few location shots outside.

I loved the abandoned building as a background

One of the only pieces of furniture left in the house was this bench. We moved it into the dining room and took advantage of the window light from the opposite wall.

The youngest girl got a little shy so I just came to her.

Sweet and innocent…

But I hear this is how the sisters really act.

The scene here is breathtaking. Everyone of these people, known and unknown, died for our freedom.

What really makes me sad, is that some bodies are just known as numbers.

To keep me from typing wrong facts, there is a very good written history of the tunnel HERE!
I highly recommend that you all read it and I’ll just stick to writing about our adventure.

For some time now, Genevieve’s dad (Dave) has wanted to explore the Blue Ridge Tunnel. It’s also referred to as Crozet’s tunnel, named after the engineer who created such an historic feat.
We were down in the area visiting over Easter weekend so Dave and I agreed to explore it on that Monday.

Just to get to the tunnel, we had to walk about a 1/2 mile on the currently active railroad tracks that were built next to the old ones. Once we got to the edge of the tunnel, I was in awe. It was such a beautiful sight, almost like a hidden treasure of the area. There was a waterfall coming off the top left of the jagged rock entrance but it was the mysteriously dark depths that were holding my attention.
The warm, humid temp and packed earth soon made way to chilly air, and a muddy stepping surface that was disguised by frigid water above the knee. I turned on my newly purchased headlamp and we were on our way.

The tunnel is now divided into 3 parts since they closed it up. Each section is divided by a thick, concrete wall with only a pipe to allow water to flow through from section to section.
When we arrived at the first pipe, I thought he was joking about us crawling through there. He wasn’t.
This picture gives you an idea of the size of the tunnel and the concrete wall that was created to close it up.

The second pipe still had water running through it which made it an extra wet.

The last section, since we’re slowly gaining elevation, was becoming less water and more rock. That allowed us to move through this section a little faster.
Looking out at the other side.

The temperature difference when we got out felt like someone had turned on a heater.

The western entrance

While heading back in to the tunnel, I was able to get a good picture of the old drilling/blasting marks. (done with hand tools and black powder)

some of the bricks lining the inside of the western side

This is me trying to find the best way to crawl through this tunnel as I knew the other side contained knee-high water.
(Photo by: Dave Munn)

looking out to the east end

Dave standing at the eastern entrance at the end of the exploration

Just as we were leaving, a train was coming down the new set of tracks and heading into the new tunnel that was built right next to the old one.

A great view from the tracks as we were leaving.

I had a great time exploring something so unique and full of history. I highly recommend it to anyone that doesn’t mind small, dark places and the risk of getting in trouble for trespassing.

Although the arboretum is usually a beautiful place for pictures, it was a little early in the season to take full advantage of the huge array of colors that line the open fields.

This is one of the most cliched maternity poses but I love how it came out.

A little different angle

Sarah was such a good sport. Because of the recent heavy rains, there was a big section of one field that was still flooded. Since I’m always trying to think out of the box, I asked her if she would stand in the water and she agreed.

(a little background)
Last March, a few days after I turned 30, I ran the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach. I had been dreading turing 30 ever since I was in my late 20’s, but luckily marathon training kept my mind off of it as I was working hard to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I ended up qualifying for Boston at that race which was a very rewarding birthday present.  Fast forward a few months to November. I waited a bit too long to register for the Boston Marathon and it sold out before I could go through the process. Although I was very disappointed, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to run my age in miles (31) on my birthday in March.

Since the end of last year, I had been slowly working up my mileage (to ~60 miles/wk) to prepare myself to run 31 miles on my 31st birthday. My original intention was to do the run completely solo, (carrying all my own water, food, etc..) but my mother surprised me by taking off work to join and assist me on my journey. The route would be pretty simple, covering the full 31 miles while headed north on Rt. 11.

(the big day)
My mother dropped me off 31 miles from the edge of town (just on the edge of Edinburg) with the intention to run back to the shops at Creekside as I didn’t want to deal with the traffic of town. Weather was mid 40’s, no wind with a beautiful rising sun.
The plan was for my mother to drive ahead and I would meet her certain points as she carried the extra water, fuel and other necessities that might be needed.

8:17am and armed with a handheld bottle of Propel mixed with chia seeds, I was off on my journey. Since it was a bit chilly, I wore a shirt over my singlet and arm sleeves. I wish I would have brought gloves as my hands froze for the first few miles. I met up with mom a little after 10 miles (Toms Brook) and was making good time with my splits ranging from 7:22 to 7:38 with a bathroom break somewhere in the woods before then. I consumed (3 ea) PowerBar Gel Blasts at both miles 5 and 10.

(mile 10.5) At the pit stop, I stripped to my singlet, grabbed a second bottle containing the same fluids and was once again on my way. Next stop was 7 miles down the road (Strasburg) and they were some tough miles. MIle 14, heading into town, was downhill for the whole mile and I felt that in my quads like they were target practice for a paintball gun. But, what went down, had to go back up and I was kinda of looking forward to it to take the pain away from the front of my legs. After climbing up to the other side of town, that was the sight of the next stop.

(mile 17.5) Once again, I grabbed a new bottle plus I ate 1/2 of a pb&j sandwich and took a handful of pretzels with me on my way out.  Also at this stop, I decided to grab my iPod and a hat as the sun was now blazing down on my head. I was feeling really good when I left which helped to make that mile (split up by the stop) the fastest mile of the run. (7:19) After seeing that, I knew I had to slow it back down as I still had over 13 miles to go. It probably wasn’t even 2 miles later that I flagged my mom down as she drove by and I gave her the aforementioned iPod and hat. This may sound weird, but I felt as though they were weighing me down. I guess after 17 miles, adding in new things just doesn’t feel right.

On my way to the next stop, a photographer from the local paper pulled up to get some pictures of me. Although I was really starting to feel some pain, I tried to put it behind me so I could look strong for the camera. It was a nice distraction as he photographed me for about 3 miles. This stretch, while going uphill at mile 20, would be the first time that I walked. I only allowed myself 1:00 of walking but it seemed to do the trick. (mile was still 7:56)

I met up with mom 4.5 miles after the last point, (22, Middletown) grabbed another bottle, some mini Snickers and did a few stretches. Just as I was getting ready to head out again, the photographer met back up with me so he could grab some still/portrait shots. As much as I didn’t want to do them, I actually enjoyed the little rest.

By now, the temp is nearing 60, the sky is cloudless, the road is still unshaded (as it was for the whole route) and the sun seemed like it was out to get me. We had planed to meet ~5 miles down the road, the other side of Stephens City, at the local driving range/go cart track. The closer I got to town, the closer it got to 5 miles, and the more I realized that I had misjudged the distance when I mapped it out this morning. I was starting to get nervous as a bottle of water in that heat was barely lasting me 5 miles. I consumed another serving (3) of the Gel Blasts and tried to conserve my remaining fluids in case I had a few more miles to go. Luckily for me, my mother was watching her odometer, noticed the same thing, and had stopped just on the edge of town at an empty parking lot. Weirdly enough, it was exactly 26.2 miles from when I started. My marathon time was 3:18 running and 3:30 with the stops. (not too bad)

At this stop (26.2) I ate the other half of my pb&j and grabbed another bottle of Propel with chia seeds that my mother had been preparing for me the whole time. I once again did a few stretches and was headed off to tackle the remaining miles with every step being farther than I have ever run before - every step of which was just a little more painful both mentally and physically.

I knew the last miles would be brutal so we planned to meet again about halfway to the finish. It turned out to be almost at the end of mile 29 (my slowest mile at 8:26) which was great as I was almost out of liquids. This time, I just grabbed a bottle of plain water and headed to the final destination. “Only 2 miles” I kept telling myself as I put my head down and pushed like the little engine that could. I knocked out a 7:39 mile with only 1 mile to go. I tried to finish strong for that last mile but I just didn’t have it in me.

Fighting back all kinds of emotions, I walked a bit before making the final run to the parking that I could just barely see in the distance. Coming into the lot, I was greeted by my mother, my grandfather and Genevieve all yelling and cheering me on. As much as I wanted to stop there, I still had .17 miles to run. After making a quick loop around the parking lot, my watch beeped as I passed in front of the screaming pack of 3. I immediately dropped to the ground at let loose all of the emotions that had been building up inside of me for not only the last 31 miles, but probably since the last time I had a good cry. I was finally done.

I’d like to thank my mom for all her support, encouragement, and motivation. She single handedly made this run smooth, easy and painless.

What I haven’t mentioned yet, is something that caught my eye shortly into the run. I caught a glimpse of this neon sign that had my name on it, a few other words, and was signed “-Thomas N.” It turns out that my friend, Julia-Faye, had emailed some fellow members on Dailymile and asked them for some motivational quotes for me and wrote them out on poster boards. The night before, she and another friend went out along the route and posted the 22 signs in places where there wasn’t going to be much scenery to give me that extra little boost. Let me tell you, it worked. Each time I saw one in the distance, I would get a smile on my face and couldn’t wait to read what was written.

(final stats)
total run time: 3:56
total time including bathroom breaks, 5 bottle swaps with food and getting photographed by the local newspaper: 4:20.

If you’re looking for something to help motivate you further, I highly suggest the Dailymile.com community. You can sign up HERE!

Unlike most people, I headed to the grocery store the night before not to get food, but to document the empty shelves.

The most shocking thing I saw was the lack of salad. Really? Who wants to be snowed in with salad?

I can understand the lack of water.

Chips. Now we’re talking!

Bread? What bread?

The milk never stood a chance.

The snow started on Friday, and before it could get bad, I took some time to play “ball” with Kodak.
Chasing

Full stride.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures on Saturday as I spent most of the day keeping up with my shoveling and resting/eating when I was back inside.
The sun setting at the end of the day on Saturday. You can see how much snow fell in less than 36 hours.

poor tree

Sunday morning and the shoveling is complete. I estimated that I displaced over 280,000 inches cubed of snow by hand.

While I was shoveling on Saturday, I made Kodak a series of tunnels to play in.

Size comparison vs. the wall of snow shoveled from the driveway

Reaching for his ball

Snow tossed in the air from a shovel

Monday evening, I decided to head downtown and grab some pictures at the old town mall.

Krystal, the model, is also a fellow photographer and she expressed an interest in modeling for me. After a bunch of emails, we finally found a day that would work with both of our schedules. The bad thing-it wouldn’t be until late at night. After brainstorming of ideas of where to shoot, she mentioned the idea of a laundromat. Needless to say, I was game for this one.

We met around 10:30pm and decided to check out a few laundromats until we found the right one. Luck must have been on our side as the first one we tried was not only empty, but it stayed that way for the duration of the shoot. (Well, until the manager pulled up at which point we decided to call it a night.)

We started out taking a few “static” shots mainly so I could get my lights adjusted, we could warm up to each other and I cold get in the zone.

Close up

You know me…“why don’t you hop in the dryer?” It was all I could do not to pull a mean prank and shut the door.

While she was in there, I noticed a reflection on the door.

Just before we got our first and only visitor for the evening, we moved things over to this retro bench. For some reason, this photo called out to me to edit it with a really warm tone.

Krystal was very natural in front of the camera and I hope to work with her in the near future.