Originally Posted by
Apus^2
You have to learn to suffer. Practice it. In your workouts, when you are doing intervals, threshold or VO2 you will learn how to suffer. Keep doing those workouts and your body and mind will say, "Hey, this hurts. But I've been here before and I will be fine."
Also, keeping hr/power below that magic number tells me that no matter how much it hurts, i'll be fine.
+1
Music is a no-no.
Thinking about girls is a no-no.
Internal focus is key. Breathing and pedal stroke.
When you're in the last km, then dream of the gold medal, the podium girls, the spot on Letterman. Threshold doesn't matter any more at that point.
The rest of the time stay inside your body.
It will hurt, though.