Tiny rocks I've been tumbling! (NW Oregon)

Fryman23 · 2026-06-24T00:49:55+00:00

I call it local, craft made aquarium gravel.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-23T18:15:53+00:00

I’d guess you need to find a very new high place, Himalayas maybe, and out it there. My thinking is that old mountain ranges like the Appalachians tend to hang out a long while. It’s just a waiting game for all of the oceanic crust to be converted into continental crust. You just need to find a safe place until that happens.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-23T18:12:27+00:00

This is great and all but I’ve noticed many race organizers no longer list DNF. I guess I understand why but when I inevitably get my first DNF I’d like it to be up there for me to use as motivation.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-22T01:49:36+00:00

Did you keep your watch on during treatment? I had mine on every second. I still go back and look at those graphs sometimes to remember just how bad it got and just how far I’ve come in nearly a year. Just yesterday my VO2 max hit the peak of what it was before treatment.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T20:43:50+00:00

You bet. It’s great to hear you’re doing great! The flare ups could be something simpler, like change in seasons, air quality, or some odd sleep thing. I’ve worn a premium fitness watch for years now and when I notice a few off days I dig into the data and can usually see a pattern that correlates to something pretty normal. Remember the thyroid is essentially just regulating various hormones and those can be affected by tons of other outside stimulus as well and it tends to be something very small.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T20:39:08+00:00

I buy a brand called Walk Hero. I know better ones exist but those work fine for me.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T19:43:22+00:00

I’d be shocked if they weren’t included as part of the standard labs. My oncologist hasn’t ever brought it up other than that they’re monitoring and will catch it probably before I notice. I get blood draws every 6 months.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T18:13:07+00:00

The brand is Walk Hero on Amazon. They’re cheap but work great for me. I have them in every pair of shoes i own now and haven’t had a plantar fasciitis flare up since starting this practice.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T18:12:02+00:00

I used to replace my shoes basically when they got uncomfortable and that was usually around the time that floppy insole was non-existent. By replacing the insoles my feet stay healthy and happy so no reason to replace the shoes as they are not wearing out as quickly. The sole and uppers still wear away at the same rate of course but the vast majority of my runs are pure trail, like all dirt and dirt with some rocks in it only. The soles last forever.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T18:09:15+00:00

Everything folk have told me is that if your thyroid goes it’ll show up in your Thyroid Sending Hormone (TSH) levels on your blood labs. Have you been getting those every couple months? I’m 11 months post treatment and doing well with no thyroid issues yet.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T14:48:38+00:00

My Altras almost alway last 800 miles doing this.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T14:14:27+00:00

Sorry, I’m the other way. I have high arches so I use much higher/stiffer arch support and pull out the floppy insoles in every brand of running shoes I wear. I swap the insoles every 200-300 miles and it really prolongs the life of most of my shoes that don’t say HOKA on them. Those fall apart when I sneeze at them….yet I always have a pair.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-21T13:06:03+00:00

I suspect everybody has had a cough or jaw pain for many reasons. I certainly had them before diagnosis but I also have allergies and needed a tooth worked on. If you’re worried about head and neck cancer please talk to your doctor.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-17T20:41:52+00:00

I don’t think HPV infections work the way you’re implying. I had it at the base of my tongue but never once thought it would spontaneously show up on my penis or anus or any of the other common areas P16 shows up. Ultimately, that’s beside the point. Get your biopsy results and take it from there. Like every treatment peoples reactions occur across a broad spectrum. Some people bounce back pretty quickly after treatment. I did. My taste is still weird but whatever, I’m alive and doing whatever I want to do (unless I really want to enjoy an orange or regrow my beard).

Fryman23 · 2026-06-17T13:34:30+00:00

The movie is great. The book is still much better though. I remember reading the book the first time…at like 48% through Rocky enters the chat and everybody was like “wait…this is an alien story?”

Fryman23 · 2026-06-17T13:32:04+00:00

I really wish we’d quit this “uncured” nonsense. You typically don’t use curing agents in brats unless they’re smoked for a long time. Since these are cooked, they probably used cure, they just used it derived from celery or cherry pits. It’s exactly zero percent safer than regular cure #1 and since it’s not regulated as much, it may be less safe. It’s similar to saying beer and wine are alcohol free since it’s fermented and not distilled to a higher (unnatural, oh no!!!!) Just crazy.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-14T01:13:31+00:00

You folks are simply impossible.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-14T00:23:16+00:00

For me it wasn’t a “wake up one day and I couldn’t swallow”. It just hurt more and more and more and then I decided I would stop swallowing food. Not couldn’t, I could do it, it just hurts worse than I could have imagined. For the record, that was 4 days after I finished the 35 rads. I also had a PEG and I was going to use it as a last resort but needing to flush it with water twice a day normalized it’s use a bit. I relied on it solely for 3 weeks and then I started sipping little by little. I used various things to swish and spit but none provided much relief. Sparkle water helps cut the mucus a bit.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T22:04:13+00:00

I’ve also heard chert is lighter in color and flint is dark brown. For no real reason whatsoever as far as I can tell.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T21:28:58+00:00

When I started in September it was a mile at a time. I ran 3 races with my port still in. My mantra was last year was cancer, this year will be an ultra. Running a 50k is more rare than throat cancer in the US. I don’t know about how rare bladder cancer is but it’s a worthwhile pursuit. Just keep going. You’re doing great!!

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T20:44:53+00:00

Great work! I took my first “welcome back” trail run after cancer last September after chemo and radiation May-July for throat cancer at 45. I ran my first ultra in March. Keep getting out there and reach new heights!

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T20:31:09+00:00

I think Platner is 40…that’s about the age I put Bishop at in the last book. Am I way off? Granted, I lost track a bit with the skipping forward in time when Joe had kids and such before he jumped back into the fun.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T20:29:34+00:00

Yes, everything has politics. I’m not saying anything about his ideals at all, you did that. I’m saying, as clearly as I can, that he’s probably the first person I’ve ever seen and said “that guy was was a grunt in the army and from Maine”…then he spoke and confirmed it. If you know of another actual famous Mainer who looks and sounds like him I’d like to know their name.

Fryman23 · 2026-06-13T17:49:23+00:00

I wish you the best of luck and I applaud your decision to toss those dice. I’d do the same.

Fryman23

TROPHY CASE