Hills been gettin'; me down lately.
Don't know if it's loss of riding time or conditioning.
It's been posited that "conditioning" could be just as much -if not more- mental than physical.
It's also been posited that the only way to beat the hills is to ride the hills, Yes, the "R" word.

I've known in my head that it's true but have lacked the moral fiber needed to do it.
So, all weekend I've been thinking today and I guess I didn't scare myself off.
I went out today and found hill -or what passes for one, anyway- that I thought I could repeat without killing myself in the process and set out to do it 3 times. Yeah, whoop-di-doo... 3 times. But you've got to start someplace so, why not?

It's not much... just .4 miles plus or minus of avg 8% with a nice 12-14% kicker at the top. When you look at it as you drive by, it's looks like a long, gradual slope until the last 1/4 or 1/3 or so when you see it rise up. It takes me about 3 minutes. <sigh> 3 minutes for .4 mile.
Yeah, but that rise feels worse when you're riding it than it looks when you drive by

So, I went up, down, recovered for a few minutes, went up, down, recovered for a few minutes... and that was it.
I wanted no more.
I wanted to go have fun.
ut, maybe this is start of that mental toughness... I made myself do it that 3rd time.
Oh man, it hurts!
My HR got up to 175 at the end when I got out of the saddle, went up a couple of gears and "walked" my way to the top.
175? Yikes! I'm not supposed to go over 170!

Now, let's take a day or two off and try it again. I wonder what that'll be like?

Here's what it looked like with some data on the side:

Way to go! Keep at it and you'll get back to climbing better. Don't worry about how fast you can do it, just keep doing it. You'll get stronger and faster after a while.

Actually 3 minutes for .4 mile is 8mph for an 8% gradient -- not bad at all, especially with that kicker at the top. Keep it up, man, you may be a better climber than you realize!

I share your pain. There are days (and sometimes weeks) when I just want to cruise and not hurt from the effort. I'm a bit concerned when you say you're not to get your heart rate over 170. Is that limit self-imposed or from a physician? If it's a physician, I might keep climbing, but back off just a wee bit and try to keep it under the 170.

My hill repeat for training was a 10% for a mile That was before I moved onto the hard ones


Only managed twice the first time---and that was when I WAS fit. The mental aspect needs training as much as the body so keep training.

Yeah, doctor imposed. My BP goes places my Cardio doesn't like when I get beyond that point.
Then, the first year I saw him, he set it at 165.
The second, 170 and last year he said quote
Ahh, you don't need to worry about that anymore. For short (10-15 minute) distances.
Still, I do freak a little when I see my HR over 170 so I hardly, hardly, hardly ever do that.

Oh, now you're just showin' off
I was very proud of myself for mustering up and gpoing that 3rd time even though I really didn't feel like dealing with the discomfort I knew I'd be in.
The trick for me -probably anyone- is to find a sustainable rhythm at a level I can tolerate. I lost the rhythm I used to have. I must get it back!