After a 5 year stint of competitive running I have switched over to cycling. I have been riding regularly for the past six months averaging over 100 miles a week and have been getting up in the 200s now(~12-13hours per week) with very few workouts, but penty of hard rides. I plan on racing for my university this spring and want to train really hard this winter. I can't seem to get any information on really dedicated training for racing, which does not involve having a power meter(my pockets are not that deep). I do have the use of a garmin forerunner and hrm at my disposal. Should I try to convert power based training programs to heartrate, should i just ride and save up for a power meter?

You do not have to use power. I am a cyclist turned runner turned triathlete and I use my HR zones which are also linked to power. I know there are slight delays in your heart rate responding to efforts but I works for me.

Troll

First, you don't need to use a PM to get great results. Power meters, when used properly, merely enhance what heart rate alone does. Second, I don't know what your budget is, but you can hit e-bay and get an older wired Powertap for a couple hundred bucks.

Check out the Cyclists Training Bible by Joe Friel. It's the grand-daddy of training material for cyclists. He does talk about using a power meter for parts of it, but you can easily translate that to heart rate.

oh thanks that should really help me out!

I googled "cycling training plans heart rate". Quite a few results, even some free programs. If your HRM is a Polar and you use their software, Polar has free programs. PCCoach cycling training plan is very good and is built for using a HRM.