Originally Posted by
ZeCanon
one more note about the Tabatas - it took me 3 full sessions to find the right target wattage, starting around 570, then 600, then finally 630-640. Each one felt hard, even the 570, but the first two left me wondering if I could have gone a little bit harder.
The last one didn't. 
Experimentation is key.
I'd say you are getting them dialed in pretty well
They are a vicious beating stick, but I haven't found anything else to be effective in the particular ways they are. Frankly, I have yet to talk to anyone who did them and didn't find them to be very effective (assuming they were well done)... most people don't do them, or get away from them because doing them well means you are getting worked over pretty darn hard.
I finally got a non library copy of Friel's cyclist's training bible today, so I'm going to go through it in the next few days and set out my training plan... I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow.
I've used his tri training bible and it was a massive help.