... on track with one's learning/drilling schedule and BR tests ... this first hand) ... astonishingly little learning actually takes place, at least ... compared to the potential for learning (almost a guarantee from diligent ...
It's normal. Happens to mostly everyone. Especially since we are learning something new. There will be certain sections that you will not understand the first time around but that's okay repeat the lessons again and drill at the end of each section.
What type of coding? I know Coursera classes for coding are supposed to be helpful. I took the R programming course, liked the setup, but did feel it has a pretty steep learning curve