not learning lessons

 Hammered up the Galibier yesterday. Looking at my stats, I did 94% of the climb at threshold, which is just daft. I did end up with a PB but was exhausted by the end of it. 

There really is something about the Galibier for me. It's that, of all the climbs, it has that sense of dread and foreboding. As you ascend, the landscape becomes ever more empty and barren, unlike Ventoux, where it's lunar, but - post-apocalyptic. There's a sense of battle being joined: just you and the hill. That's the kind of challenge that I relish - but it always ends up being rather too gung-ho for my own good. 

Overall though, there's been a marked improvement in my cycling since I started Xert, and did my best to train properly. My FTP is up, but that's a sometimes inaccurate gauge of ability. Many of my gains can be attributed to learning to pace rides properly. I'm trying not to go off too hard, to drop my watts by about 20 or 30. that means I can sustain the effort. 

Also, a lot of the ennui and nihilistic despair I felt last week seems to have dissipated. There's a lesson: hang on it there; it will always get better. I'm very grateful for that.