Albert Einstein and I are a lot alike that way :)

So ... I just spent a great deal of time and effort explaining and describing a dedicated program of training. 

And it dawns on me: ANY program that increases time and effort on the bike will result in some improvement in performance. 

For example, a grad student designs a longitudinal research study.  Hypothesis is that subjects that spend 2 minutes of walking and clucking like a chicken before going to bed will live longer than those who don't.

The researcher selects 50 nonsmoking male vegetarians between the age of 50 - 55 with no personal or family history of heart disease and has them walk and cluck like a chicken for 2 minutes every night before bed.  The researcher then selects another 50 men of the same age and does NOT instruct them to walk and cluck like a chicken for 2 minutes every night before bed.

Twenty years later the data show that the first group experienced (significantly) fewer deaths.  Researcher's conclusion?  Walking and clucking for 2 minutes every night before bedtime increases longevity (but it ruined marriages and kids never bring the grandkids over). 

Same with the Power Meter v. Heart Rate Zone Training program.  Both will improve performance if applied in accordance with a prescriptive training regimen.  Train more and harder and you'll get better!!  (You're smard, doc!)

Well, poof!!!  There goes THAT comfortable delusion. 

Or, as Albert Einstein said about his theory of relativity: "I thought about it while riding my bike."