+1 on the KoolStops, they make a WORLD of difference. Only hint I can offer is to pulse the brakes and keep the speed lower from the top in order to reduce your braking effort at the bottom.

Now having said that I recently got a bike with hydraulic discs and will never go back to rim brakes again. They are just so nice and take so much less effort and have a great feel to them. They are well worth any weight penalty they incur. Need them? Nope, there is little justification for such an elaborate setup for my piddling needs, but dayum, there sure are nice.