The Garmin is a wonderful little device chock full of data from your rides. It is especially useful when paired with a power tap. Which is exactly why I was glancing down at my Garmin midway through my ride. Normally, my eyes stay glued to this device for the entirety of my ride as I hold my threshold for an inordinate amount of time or as I practice my sprints trying to beat my PR for max power (which I can proudly say is more than Andy Schleck, but a measly half of what sprinter Mark Cavendish can put out which is 1600 watts).
Intervals are the key. In the beginning my training style was to ride 3 times a week and try to go as fast as I could for as long as I could. This will never increase your ability. It is the carefully planned intervals at your max, with rest intervals sprinkled throughout that will increase your cycling ability quickly. And, you should go so hard during your intervals that when you get to your rest interval you literally cannot pedal for several seconds as you recover from your effort. It is these efforts that will bring results in races and in your group rides.
I learned this during my first race of this year at Knights Ferry Road Race. I got to the finish line panting and grunting in pain as I finished at the top of a climb. I didn't win, and barely eked out third place. But, what I realized was that none of my workouts simulated a race. And, none of them caused me to be in as much pain nor to go as deep as that race had pushed me to dig. From then on, I vowed to push myself so deep into that place of pain during training that digging deep in races would become a breeze. Has it worked? With the right training plan, definitely. I podiumed 3 times in the last month.