They must be much more in-tune with their bodies than I am. I can't tell you how many times I've looked down at my PM during a race, thinking I"m going "easy" and realize I'm 30W over my target. What I feel like on race day, fully tapered and all jacked up on adrenaline, is nothng like what I feel like during training. Everyone always says "never try anything new on race day," so for the life of me I can't understand why I'd train for months and months with a PM and then take all that data away on race day.

I race track, where you're not allowed to have a visible head unit (but you can put tape over it, or put it under your saddle to collect forensic data). So you have to get pretty good at measuring effort for pursuit or breakaway efforts.

My experience with running is that it's possible to get extremely accurate running by feel. And it's probably a useful skill at times. I remember way back in high school/collegiate track where the coach would prescribe a pace, say 12 400s at 72 seconds, and I could would cross the start-finish every time almost exactly at 72 seconds by feel.

Right, but even that feeling is something you can learn about yourself. In TT you learn what it feels like to "float" the first two minutes to avoid going too deep.

I'm not a luddite. I have all the gizmos and 5 power meters. Just saying that I use the data mostly for training/forensics. I also use it for in-race feedback, but it wouldn't stress me out in the slightest if my head unit died.

I train with a power meter on my trainer only. Everything that's done outside and races I go up a heart rate. My results have not been great by any stretch but I don't think that is due to either of those. there's definitely some very good athletes on this forum that race and train strictly off of feel.

When I did it I over-cooked the bike in all of my long course races.

Yes. I do most or at least half of my training indoors on a smart trainer, but don't have a power meter on my bike. I race by HR and feel. It's not perfect, but seems to work ok.

I use it in triathlons as I find the swim throws my RPE and HR off quite a bit and I don't race tris frequently enough to adjust my RPE accordingly. Even then I only have a very rough power target and I don't get fussed if I'm above or below it as long as I'm riding steady.

Don't really use it in TTs or road races, will record it for post race analysis but pacing is done by RPE and HR. I tend to not even have it visible in road races as it's a distraction, for TTs I go back and forth as to whether to have it or not, tend to have it for rolling courses but not flat ones.

I do that. Race with HR. Trying to go as fast as I can below a hr # has worked for me.

For the last two years, I've had a power meter for my road bike which is what I use for the majority of training. I don't have a power meter on my triathlon bike and race by HR & RPE

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I have a PM and use it for training and racing......but......I use HR more for racing because it factors in the local conditions, weather, terrain, etc.

Training I use power and monitor HR.

Racing I use HR and monitor power.

For me, a power meter is essential to getting maximum performance in a triathlon or TT. I like pegging my power number and holding it there. When I'm there, I know I'm going as fast as I can go.

But for gravel, I ride without a power meter and monitor my heart rate. In a gravel race, there is rarely a situation where holding a power number is possible / meaningful over any period of time. I watch my HR to make sure I'm not overcooking it and to catch it if I become dehydrated.

Interesting responses. Yes, you can learn how you perceive effort while tapered, but even then there is some variability, so your RPE may vary race to race at that same power output.

Personally, I have ratcheted down the effort before based on feel, even with a PM and head unit. After some experience you tend to know whether or not you will run well based on your RPE and fatigue level on the bike. But having the PM there keeps you in check if you feel really *great* and need to keep from burning matches.

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Strava

This is exactly how I use my power meter in races. I train indoors entirely to my PM to maximize my training time. And in outdoor training rides, I will ride to a target power to self-assess how that would feel on race day.

But on race day, I will use HR to monitor effort more than power. I learned this the hard way-- one race I was racing to power but not paying attention to how the heat was affecting me. If I had been watching HR, I would have seen a steady climb in the last 1/2 of the ride. I had a horrible run because of over-cooking the bike (but riding perfectly to my power target).

I'm coming around to that way of thinking... I race all my races by feel except an Ironman. That one is ruled by the PM.

Eric

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
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I haven't read the responses yet, but I would really only want a power meter during a race for two reasons (and I'm obsessed with data): 1) to limit my output during longer races, as you alluded to, and 2) post-race analysis. For sprint and olympic distance, I just try to go as hard as I possibly can and a power meter isn't going to contribute meaningfully to that. I do like to keep an eye on total distance and cadence though.....

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Always.

Whatever the distance I just go by feel. I still have the PM there, but it's more for after the fact analysis. Sometimes I don't understand how poorly people miss judge their effort level or what they can sustain for a given time period/distance, but for those people, please use it.

To be more precise I watch power when racing and use HR primary....but....power is important because if I'm feeling good and my HR is where I want it to be I will push the power as long as my HR stays in control. So bottom line is when racing HR is my limiting factor....not power. Training is the other way around most of the time. When its base training or closer to race time I train with HR to make sure its balanced with power.

And again, this exactly. I use power during a HIM as informational data, but I constrain myself to HR. However, if I am feeling it or conditions allow, I will ramp up power some, but cap out at about 85% FTP. And ditto for training. I will always focus on power first and pretty much ignore HR, except to note what HR I am typically at for various power levels.

Great minds think alike....until they bonk....LOL

I sorta do. I have all that info in front of me but I mostly use it to stay under control in the early stages. If I see too high of a number I back off.

But once I'm in a groove I use perceived effort as much as possible and just spot check it against normalized power which will pop up in an alert every 10 miles.

Worrying too much about power or HR can get me in a hole sometimes. Maybe it's just avoiding the mental fatigue that helps, but I tend to race best when perceived effort is my main indicator and all else is tertiary.

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
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I do exactly what you say, train with power and race (mostly) by feel. I do anything from sprint to IM and basically look at my PM during the first 10-60 minutes depending on the distance just to gauge how my RPE and power are aligning. Like others, I use it mostly as a limiter in longer races and sometimes a stick in shorter ones. A lot of the time I'll just put cadence on and spot check power when I get auto lap notifications every 10 minutes. If my PM is saying my power is way low, and it feels hard, you better believe I've learned to listen to my legs and just go with it. My thought is, I'd rather have extra in the tank to go after it on the run.

The other thing I do in training is use the PM for most of my intervals, but maybe the last one or two I'll go dark on the data and see if my RPE aligns with the target effort. That can be invaluable if your PM goes wonky on you race day. had my watch go in the drink during the swim in a HIM a few years ago and because I had practiced that, while mildly stressful, wasn't a day killer.

I'm in the same group - power on the indoor trainer, but no power for races. I had a V3 on my race bike. Failed twice in the week leading up to a big event. I replaced it a couple of times, then convinced them to refund my money. Intended to by Favero Assioma pedals. Never did and don't (think) that I miss it.

I went to a triathlon circuit last week-end to try and "pace" the laps.
I did a few laps with the PM in mind, and a targeted FTP percentage.
Then I did a few laps by feel.
Result:
laps with PM = 6:30
Laps by feel = 7:00

I'm desperatly slow at running anyways :-( . I'd rather target a good bike leg. I'll work on my running in future years.

LOuis :-)

I think there needs to an "it depends" to this

every athlete is different

i train with a PM on every ride i do...inside or out

on sprints and olympics i don't race with power or HR. I'm constantly checking in to ask myself if i can go and hold harder or if i'm at my limit.

half and full, i like to use power, HR, speed, and RPE all as tools to help determine how i'm doing.
If i'm riding 28 mph on a flat with a tailwind, is there really and reason to expend extra watts or energy at that moment or would i be better off saving them for more challenging terrain at other parts of the race?

there's definitely a TON of "it depends" here especially considering EVERY course is different!

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Merge Multisport Founder & Head Coach
USAT Level 2 - Short & Long Course
Ironman Certified
Brevard, NC

Used to since I have a smart trainer and had no PM.
Did ok.
Got Vector 3 pedals and I'm actually pretty close to target power if I go by feel and look post race.

Over time if you're not tuning out during your workouts, you should get a sense of what applying power feels like in your legs.

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Ryan
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