Thank you, all, for your input. Data points...
Clearly, not having yet ridden outdoors with power, my impression of its awesomeness needs some tempering. Anybody wanna mail me their power pedals to demo for a week?!?
Originally Posted by
terrymorse
A power meter responds quickly to a change in power, so it can guide you quickly to speed up or slow down as needed.
That speaks well to how I've been envisioning using a power meter. When I ride the route that I ride, all manner of "events" cause my heartrate to jump temporarily. When that happens, it can easily take a minute or more for my heart rate to come back down. Sometimes as long as five minutes. During that time, which feels like hours:
1) I'm flying a bit blind as to whether I'm expending the right amount of effort and;
2) Another "event" may well take place. Bunny hopping a dachshund, passing a group, or whatever.
On the other hand, I would think that I could correct power surges on timelines closer to five to ten seconds and then just trust that my heart rate will come back down to a level commensurate with the power based on historical performance.
Originally Posted by
terrymorse
But I don't do strict "must stay in zone 2" rides, as I don't see the value of being that regimented. "All roads lead to Rome".
Inugo San Millan's data backed theory is that, once you leave zone 2 for an appreciable stretch, it can take a long time to get back to it because you've triggered metabolic events which don't switch off easily. So once you leave zone two in the context of a 60-90 minute ride, that's the end of your zone 2. Having begun to drink from the fire hose of glycolytic energy, it takes some doing to convince your body to go back to gnawing away at the fat stores.
The stakes with this are abnormally high for me. I'm an unmedicated, lean type 2 diabetic which means, among other things, that I don't have many levers to pull with respect to keeping myself in remission. I'm banking on the strict zone 2 training -- to the tune of 6+ HRS / week -- to yield the mitochondrial improvements that I need rather desperately. In San Millan I trust... for now.