Drawing from direct observation is hard, especially on an iPad. It feels all clumsy and unnatural. While having the object in front of me, I’m mostly looking at the iPad screen, drawing wobbly lines. Those latter I should fix first, I guess.

I guess one can take drawing from photos only so far. At some point real life observations are needed to improve artistically. Much like practicing in front of a mirror requires an audience at some point to become convincing.

Quick sketch from a photo I took in 2017.

I suppose doing these daily line drawings brings me closer to my goal of a realistic drawing. I should get looser, though.

It’s clear to me that I need to slow down, considerably. It takes time to observe and interpret what your eyes take in. 28 minutes is just too short, but it’s progress.

After commenting with a pixel art version based on a sketch in ibisPaint X, I refined it, and put it in its own post. I can see what to improve upon, yet the general idea is there. AI alt description confirms it. Some learning to do now.

Despite an injury I developed after my half marathon race two weeks ago, I’m going to run a marathon next Sunday. I already know what went wrong (lack of specific strength), and how to prevent it next time—I need to do the supplementary exercises I used to do, like hops and jumps, and running up a stair, several steps at a time, besides the usual exercises like crunches, planks, lunges and push-ups.

So, in order to not stress my body too much, I lowered my expectations for the upcoming marathon race, by starting at a 4:30 hours pace (6:20 min/km, 10:11 min/mi), and perhaps speeding up after the 35 km mark. It’s a sound strategy, provided the injury is cured (enough). I replaced running by bicycling a week ago.

I suppose I’m (re)learning by making mistakes. I really can’t fault myself, because the trainer I’m paying my track & field club for has never materialized. There’s someone, but he’s only interested in faster runners at shorter distances (3 to 10 km). Maybe I should hire a coach, though that’s rather costly, even an online coach or an app like Runna. Doing it all yourself is unnecessarily hard.

🏃‍♂️👈42.2 km👉🏃‍♂️‍➡️

I’m a bit rusty after so many months of not drawing, so I needed a few weeks to be able to share something I’m not too embarrassed about. I know, it’s silly, because so few read this blog. The drawing is made on an iPad Pro (4th gen, 11 inch), using ibisPaint and an Apple Pencil. 🖌️

As a test for my upcoming marathon I ran half the distance in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. The weather was perfect, and I appeared well-rested at the starting line. The first 600 m was a bit cramped with runners, so I couldn’t run fast enough for a sub-2 hours result. When I was finally able to, I sped up to compensate for the lost time. Until the 16 km mark my watch predicted 1h57m30s as the nett time. Then I sped up by 6 percent, forcing a faster pace. Of course, this wasn’t without consequences, and I started to cramp up, with the occasional spasm. Somehow I could keep the muscle cramps under control, and finished in 1h54m35s.

The distance was a problem, of course, but the running speed was, since I hadn’t trained for it. In fact, in the final 5 km I ran faster than my fastest 10 km this year. I clearly was overreaching here, which isn’t a problem, since it was a race, after all. Since this half marathon was a test, I can now evaluate that 4h15m would be a reasonable and rational time for me on the marathon distance. It leaves room for bad circumstances and a bad day. Previously, in 2021, bad weather caused me to run 5 minutes slower than under perfect conditions. In theory, I could run a (very unlikely) 4 hour marathon. I suppose I’ll leave that barrier for the next marathon.

Still to come next Sunday is a 35 km long slow run, with 10 km at marathon race pace, a 25 km long slow run the Sunday thereafter, and in three weeks my marathon race in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands, also on a Sunday. You see, there’s some reason to this madness.

Rage bait is a thing on Threads. Why doesn’t that surprise me? Hopefully, Meta claiming they will deal with this isn’t just lip service. OTOH, Facebook’s supposed to add gen AI “news” items in users' feeds to keep them engaged. So engagement bait is kind of in Meta’s blood, and very bad indeed.

I will buy myself a new running watch in December, and if I finish my marathon end November, it will be a fancy watch. Still Garmin, though, since it’s currently by far the best watch brand for serious endurance athletes, in my opinion at least. My current watch (FR 245) is lacking key features.

Preparing for a marathon after a break of a few years is like making the impossible probable. I think I can do it continuing my current prep, but it won’t be easy, since I don’t have a knack for running long distances. But then, it’s never easy to run such long distances however well-prepped one is.

If you only have the one iPhone, repair is a total PIA. It seems like Apple security makes the iPhone’s owner feel totally insecure, while for thieves it’s probably business as usual. Got a confirm-you-still-own-your-phone while I had to remove it from Find My for repair yesterday. This sucks.

After three weeks of marathon prep with 68, 80 and 87 km respectively, I’m about to do an “easy” week, with only 66 km of running. Less than nine weeks to go before the big event. Furthermore, I found I need to do two sessions of strength training each week to compensate for aging (I’m 64).

I got a substantial price increase on my Dutch managed Wordpress subscription with domain name. I checked a similar hosting provider, and (without the first-year’s rebate) that one was even pricier. I suppose managing WP is rather labor-intensive with a (nowadays) relentless attack by bad actors.

I miss @jean as a community manager. Nowadays days go by before I check the Timeline, only to be disappointed yet again by a lack of fun content.

I wondered if a new GoPro Hero 13 with a selfie stick would be a valuable addition to my Dutch running blog. So I tried the slo motion function of my aging iPhone SE (2020). I’m sure I’d need practice and a more interesting ambiance. Running faster than 5:15 min/km (8:25 mpm) pace should help too.

Yesterday I entered as a participant to the Marathon Rotterdam on April 13, 2025. I had to be quick, because all 17,000 starting tickets sold out in 2½ hours.

All I have to do now is get into shape and train the heck out of this old body that will have turned 65 on race day.

Another long(ish) run to improve my marathon shape. Most of it (16 km) was on sand paths and rough terrain. The pace was eight percent slower than my currently expected marathon pace. The marathon will be on November 24, 2024.

If you’re going to lie, do so fast and loud, and most will believe you. Ask any teenager or demagogue.