The Run and Firefighting

So as I was getting ready for Gateway Training here in Texas, I prayed that there would be at least one other runner in the group so I would have someone to run with.  As it turns out, there are like six of us that run on a regular basis. Awesome!

We were looking at a race in Tyler a few weekends ago to run together, but it was rather expensive and logistically difficult to get there. So we decided to have our own run!! Sunday we did it, ran around the lake at Tyler State Park. Six of us ran it, there was a finish line with medals and tee shirts and everything. Very epic and so much fun!

Runners at the start

The back of the tee shirts we made

The tee shirts were for everyone, not just the runners. And here we are!
 

It was awesome.  This week we've been in our final week of training, called BST, which is the US Coast Guard's Basic Safety Training, as well as crowd management. International maritime law requires a certain percentage of any crew have this training, so it's a requirement for all crew serving longer than 9 months, as well as all deck and engineering crew regardless of length of service. 

The first two days were firefighting, and really... I can't say I enjoyed it, but I endured it well, and of course passed all the requirements.  But I'm just not super keen on fire. I don't even light candles very often.  I like a good campfire but I'm usually the safety-conscious one, making sure we're covered.

All of us ready to go!

Out on the field

Me and my partner, Dangyra, who totally rocked it. I would want this girl on my team!

Yesterday we did first aid and CPR which was just a review from my many, many years of lifeguard training and instructor certifications! So... nothing epic.

TODAY and tomorrow, however, are awesome.  Safety and survival at sea.  I LOVE WATER and anything having to do with being in the water, on the water, or near the water.  Tomorrow we travel to a local pool and do practical exercises. I am very excited.  So hey, I'm not keen on fire, but am loving the water portion. It takes all kinds. And I'm super excited to be living on a boat again. :) Er, that is, a ship!

Gateway overall has been incredible!  Tomorrow we're at the pool, Saturday and Sunday we pack, clean, trip it to Walmart one more time, and finish our final projects.  Monday we have crowd management in the morning and then presentations of our final projects and an african diner in the evening.  We head out Tuesday morning!  We are flying Dallas-Newark-Brussels-Conakry, arriving late on Wednesday evening.  If you want my flight info, let me know!

All photos except the one of me and Dangyra are courtesy (and with permission) of the ever fabulous Suzanne, you can look at her blog here: http://suzannemichelles.blogspot.com/

Peace! Krissy