Hill climbing/training advice, please!

[equus123]

I find that the key is to find your rhythm and pace yourself when it comes to long climbs.

It's really important not to mash a hard gear at first so that you have more cogs in reserve for later. Rookie mistake #1. I find that this makes your legs blow up worse and way earlier, if at all. Instead, start off switching gears (as needed) every few pedal strokes as the road tilts up until you get to your lowest/easiest gear. (this also slowly increases the load on your legs vs. being in too hard of a gear and increasing the power 125 watts in 10 seconds = not good) As you're moving your way up the cassette, figure out which pace (i.e. cadence) you're going to use for the climb. Once you get into your lowest gear then keep that same pace you already created. Forget about the pain, forget about the heat, forget about the cars, forget about the muscles burning, forget about the breathing, and switch on auto-pilot. Not going into auto-pilot is a big mistake that a lot of people make. They're too conscious. Not good. Zone out.

hope this helps