Newbie question about pace on trainer
For the first two weeks on the OS, I didn't really have pace data because my cateye was messed up, but now have te GSC 10 installed and working and noticing that my pace is very slow, at all out HR I hit a whopping 16 mph (my HIM pace was faster). The trainer knob is turned about a turn and a half, so not super tight. My trainer is about 8 years old, its a cylcops fluid.
Is that normal to be slower on the trainer? Or is something wrong in how I have set it up? Or should I just forget the absolute pace and just do the work and look only at improvment over whatever pokey pace I am currently at?
I was happy with my workouts thus far, but now seeing the numbers, 9 miles after a hard 45 minute workout is somewhat disheartening. 
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Comments
Anu:
If you have to display something, can you just display cadence? It is a number taht is essentially irrelevant to the work being done.
Thanks everyone. That is good to know.
Yep - trainer speed is a meaningless number and has little relevance to your road speed, except this: if you get faster on the trainer, then you will be faster on the road.
What is meaningful is work at your threshold and work above your threshold, however you measure it.
Some use power. Some use HR. Cadence in a known gear on a known trainer isn't bad.
TrainerRoad calculates something they call Virtual Power (trainerroad.com) based on cadence, speed and model of trainer.
Again, it has only an incidental relationship to real power on the road, but it doesn't matter because it gives you a baseline against which to monitor your progress and a metric you can use to set the right intensity.
There's a great thread on how to set this up if you're interested - post back if you want more information.
It's all about doing work during the OS so you're pleased and surprised when you DO get back on the road.
" ... happy with my workouts thus far..." - that's the place to be, for sure.
9 miles in 45 minutes this week, 9.5 miles in 45 minutes next week = improvement. Be heartened by improvement in the numbers over time!
@Russell, thanks! Spending sometime reading up stuff in EN and setting up trainerroad is on the schedule this week. WIll come back with questions..I'd love a powermeter but having just bought my first tribike in December (and a lot of travel including IM later this year), any bigger purchases are on hold. Maybe next year.
@Chris.: Good point and that was sort of why I was looking at the numbers, but you are right I have to look at improvement.
What i did was purchase such a cheap speed sensor for my trainer that it will only display kph, thus i feel like i am hauling the whole time.
My dad bought a used car for the teenage kids to drive around with and it was from Canada so the speedometer was in KPH. The car felt really slow the first time I drove it... for reasons unbeknownst to me. I came back and told me dad the car didn't seem like it was driving right and everyone that was behind me was beeping and riding on my ass. He said the speedometer was in KPH. So was actually driving 18 mph around town when I thought I was going 30.
Nothing like being 17 and having to do math while trying to drive. Let's see... 65 x .62 =
@William, good to know about "mean" trainers.Oh well I figure when I ride outside I'll be pleasantly surprised. I hope anyway.