I was thinking just now, what would the difference be between training with power and training with speed? Power and speed have an almost direct relationship, more power = more speed. And, remember, that is how the Kinetic trainer computer works. It knows that at 22mph you are pushing 250 watts. No ifs, ands or buts. With outdoor riding, other variables come into play such as wind speed, but generally speaking, the more watts you are producing, the more mph you will see.
So, instead of maintaining a certain wattage for a certain amount of time, just maintain a certain speed. It seems like it might be the same thing, to me. You could train to do 250 watts for 20 minutes, or you could train to do 22mph avg for 20 minutes. Training with power is supposed to help you go faster, but, of course, you could always just ride faster!
Take a 40km time trial as an example. Many people have a goal of finishing a 40k in under one hour. This basically relates to keeping an average speed of 40 kph (24.85 mph). So, you could basically train yourself to ride 25mph for an hour, and you will obviously be able to reach your goal. Or, you could use power and determine how many watts you need to produce to keep that average speed. In the end, it seems to me to be the same thing (roughly). Of course, I may be missing something here.
Thoughts?
So, instead of maintaining a certain wattage for a certain amount of time, just maintain a certain speed. It seems like it might be the same thing, to me. You could train to do 250 watts for 20 minutes, or you could train to do 22mph avg for 20 minutes. Training with power is supposed to help you go faster, but, of course, you could always just ride faster!
Take a 40km time trial as an example. Many people have a goal of finishing a 40k in under one hour. This basically relates to keeping an average speed of 40 kph (24.85 mph). So, you could basically train yourself to ride 25mph for an hour, and you will obviously be able to reach your goal. Or, you could use power and determine how many watts you need to produce to keep that average speed. In the end, it seems to me to be the same thing (roughly). Of course, I may be missing something here.
Thoughts?