Will this hill ever get easier?

[LilBolt]

Try a little experiment and time yourself periodically on that hill. Maybe you just are the type of person who pushes herself really hard...and that level of effort may feel the same, but perhaps you really are getting faster! Don't forget to relax as much as possible and sit up to let your chest expand as you breath. Putting energy into squeezing your shoulders & hands might be stealing the energy you need to breath and pedal. I completely transformed myself as a hill climber this year, and I attribute my hilly commute as the primary catalyst. I even treated myself to the "She Loves Hills" TE jersey. Keep it up.

[Bike Chick]

I had anxiety attacks before I even got to a hill when I started riding but it took several hundred miles under my belt to learn to relax and just climb. I now enjoy hills but I had to learn to accept the challenge. Remember that most of it is mental. Just relax, breathe easy and SMILE You automatically release tension when you smile. As your mileage increases so will your fitness and your confidence. Next year you will climb that hill and chuckle about how difficult it used to be. You can do it.