I’ve been having motivation issues lately – lack of motivation. I’ve been eating too many desserts (three a day isn’t that bad, is it?!), and I’m having a hard time getting motivated to train for my upcoming half-century. Okay, work has been crazy lately, so I could blame my sweets weakness on that, but know I can’t – I know better. And I’m really looking forward to a weekend in Shepherdstown, WV, to do the CASA River Ride, but I haven’t done more than 30 miles a day on my road bike all year. (I’m not the only one who loves Shepherdstown – See this blog postfrom Chasing Mailboxes DC. I’m so inspired/intimidated by the miles they do every weekend.) Yet I didn’t feel like going out on the bike today, which would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, I slept in, then hunkered down this afternoon with a sewing project I started back in January – my reflective floral tux pants!
I bought the fabric for these pants while I was in New York in March, so I guess I haven’t been working on them that long, but I did buy the pattern in January. The fabric is super soft corduroy, my favorite fabric. 
They were not a difficult pattern, but I did a muslin mockup first, at the encouragement of my stitcher/seamstress Facebook friends, and I am glad I did. I still made a newbie mistake with the corduroy though, and cut the pockets out with the nap upside down, dammit, and I made another mistake that I’m not going to share… Hence the label I always use:
This is why I don’t think I should sew for other people, at least, not until I get more practice!
The reflective piping up the tuxedo stripe is subtle, yet it still shows up well with the light. The print is brave but the colors are somehow neutral enough with the gray that I think I can wear them with a variety of tops. They look great with my Merrell bike heels, but I’m not sure at the moment which other shoes will work. It will depend on the top, I suppose, but then again – the silver reflective Cole Haan loafers I like would be cute with them too.
And now that this project is wrapped up, I need to focus on re-motivating myself. My birthday is later this week, so I’m going to use that as my start-over point, the perfect time to clean up the eating habits, get back on the road bike, and buckle down to get some miles under my padded bike shorts. Since I’m also registered for the Seagull Century this fall through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, I will need some serious hours on the bike (as well as some massive fundraising, which scares me more than 100 miles on the bike, eek!).
How do you motivate yourself for something you want to do, know you need to do, yet just can’t get around to doing? I’m open to tips and pointers…
tinlizzieridesagain 
ha ha ha. im feeling that same lack of motivation. and that is rare for me. Ive decided to go with it and realize its my body telling me i need some time to rest. i will get back to the grind soon enough.
Thanks for the shout-out! I’m excited for your upcoming ride. Regarding your question of motivation, I do register for events and then lay out a training plan for them. For Felkerino’s and my weekend “training” rides, we commit to a day (or two) to ride and then determine where and how long the ride will be. Then we pack our stuff the night before and head out the door on the day of without discussion. Basically, it becomes something else, i.e., a commitment, on my schedule.
If I’m on my own it’s both easier and harder, as it doesn’t involve any consultation but I also don’t have the other person to motivate me/keep me to my commitment the same way.
Good luck, and I look forward to reading about the ride!