i am a follower of the chrissie wellington approach to training/racing. i really only use a watch and mapmyrun.com to figure out how far i'm going. no HRM, no bike computer, no computrainer, no power meter, no SRM. just a great coach and lots of miles and intervals.
I trained with a HRM for a while, but ditched it after a few months. I found that i was chained to it, and for harder stuff, i would watch in horror as my heart rate rose, and was sure that i'd have a heart attack or something. A powermeter is too expensive to buy and test out, but i am guessing that it would be a similar situation, and like you, i figure if i won't use it in races, whats the point in knowing my watts after the race?
I realize this is a bit unconventional for someone who is training to be an elite, and there are tons of people who have found power/numbers to be very effective training tools. I just found it so difficult to set workouts around the numbers (either it was too easy, or too hard and i'd be frustrated at not hiting my targets) and more importantly, i started hating training - it made me feel like a machine. I have a better-than-most ability to judge my pace and effort though.
Don't let your age or place in the pack determine what you do. Do whatever you think is best, but know that unless power is used correctly and fits with your personality and training style, it certainly won't be a get-faster guarantee.
"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong
I trained with a HRM for a while, but ditched it after a few months. I found that i was chained to it, and for harder stuff, i would watch in horror as my heart rate rose, and was sure that i'd have a heart attack or something. A powermeter is too expensive to buy and test out, but i am guessing that it would be a similar situation, and like you, i figure if i won't use it in races, whats the point in knowing my watts after the race?
I realize this is a bit unconventional for someone who is training to be an elite, and there are tons of people who have found power/numbers to be very effective training tools. I just found it so difficult to set workouts around the numbers (either it was too easy, or too hard and i'd be frustrated at not hiting my targets) and more importantly, i started hating training - it made me feel like a machine. I have a better-than-most ability to judge my pace and effort though.
Don't let your age or place in the pack determine what you do. Do whatever you think is best, but know that unless power is used correctly and fits with your personality and training style, it certainly won't be a get-faster guarantee.
"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong