TL; DR: That magic moment when your brain flips from "Can I go faster?" to "I
know I can go faster."
Just got back from a couple of very productive track days. Musing on how much progress I've made, I was thinking about how I felt going into certain corners this year, vs. the same time last year.
For those that haven't done it, riding the track is intensely mental. You've got a whole lot to process and you're fully engaged, both physically and cognitively. You're staring your limits right in the eyes, even at beginner group pace.
As you get faster, the markers shift and your speed goes up, but that at-the-limit-of-mental-capacity feeling remains, at least for awhile.
This past weekend I passed an important milestone in getting past that. Before, I'd be going through a corner under control, but not quite sure if I was approaching the limit and about to crash. Evidently I wasn't, since people were passing me...