Go Hillary Go!

I'm running for my life and others who face a blood-cancer diagnosis. But these days, my preparation for a marathon seems like a smaller race. Hillary's run for the White House puts my run into perspective.

I started this entry before I left for Ohio on Friday night, before Hillary won the popular vote in Ohio by a wide margin as well as winning Rhode Island and Texas. I'm back now to catch up on the last few days of politics and training. I combined the two because I didn't want to lose momentum. I ran 3.5 miles before I left and packed my running stuff because the hotel had a gym with a treadmill--or so I thought. I got on a bus with volunteers for Clinton and Obama at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 and arrived at a hotel in Cleveland at exactly 5:00 a.m. on Saturday. Pizza and beer were served on the bus, and folks brought all kinds of other potent potables. I was in the back of the bus with William (a volunteer for Obama) who shared his cognac with me (Clinton supporter) and Jean Luca (Obama, I think). When we stopped in Hazelton (aka Nowhere, PA), it was clear we hadn't gotten very far.

I've driven across the country and covered a lot of ground by car in other countries, but I have never been to a stop that sold Bibles--and Cliff note versions-- in the paperback book rack and had showers (immaculate ones, I might add). A guy name Rich lamented that he didn't find any alcohol. I told him he forgot to look behind the Bibles.

We hit white-out conditions, stopped at times and crawled behind a salt truck for a while. It wasn't ideal, but the group was quite good natured and I heard no complaints from anyone during the weekend--except maybe about the politics of some of the other volunteers.

I slept a little bit on the bus and figured there was no point in going to bed for a few hours sleep only to feel groggy anyway. So I put on my sneakers and went to the gym, which is open 24 hours. Since there was no treadmill as advertised, I was forced to work out on the elliptical machine. After a sweaty 3.5 miles and 45 minutes spent entertained by a dog show (non-working and toy groups, no hounds), I went back to my room and jumped into the shower before my 3 roommates woke up. I would have liked to do the same on Sunday morning, but I was too zonked by the canvassing and partying till the wee hours. I jumped rope and did some weights and considered it a victory.

I canvassed in Parma and Berea, which we were told were two important districts (10th Congressional, I think). I found lots of Hillary support in a solidly middle class neighborhood where we knocked on doors in bitter cold on Saturday and in a low-middle/blue collar/working class area on Sunday, which was practically balmy by comparison. The economy and jobs were the biggest issues across the board. Lots of houses for sale and lots of concern because there was no market for those houses. Other volunteers said they saw lots of boarded up houses. It was hard to tell what was really going on, but the overall trend seemed positive. Last night's primary made it clear Hillary has strong support. As she said, no candidate who has lost the Ohio primary has won the general election. Now she's on the road to Pennsylvania.

If Hillary can go the distance, so can I.

Friday: 3.5
Miles to date: 29.50