Why does the 'c' click feel so stuck in my throat when I'm speaking sentences?

I’m practicing my Xhosa pronunciation daily, but I’m really struggling with the dental click (c). I find that when I slow down, I can make the sound, but as soon as I try to speed up for a conversation, I lose the click entirely or it just sounds like a muffled 'ch'. How do I train my tongue to hit that dental position naturally without pausing before every word that starts with a 'c'?