not trying to be glib, but your complaint is actually the strength of the system, and why it's difficult to state and/or duplicate, but also why it's not for everyone. the coach has to be intelligent and attentive; the athlete has to have faith. if the athlete needs constant verification (and validation) other than the races, this is not the system for them. joe douglas would give us the effort, and we generally knew how fast we were going even without watches (yes, others would surreptitiously time certain reps, and, at times joe would show me splits from someone else's workout), but ultimately--and i think the true secret to its success--it allowed the coach to adapt on the fly depending on how we looked. i'm sure joe had a number in mind, say 10x400 at 56, but if you looked tired he could cut it down to 8 (or even fewer); if you looked great, he could make it 12x400. unlike what someone posted above about sparing egos or giving false confidence, i think it saved us from our compulsions. besides, there were workouts where he'd absolutely show us splits--frequent time trials, various all-out efforts, etc.--and he was accurate; he had that classic coaching stance where you could actually see him stop his watch as you finished, so no, i don't think he was giving us a "quick" watch.
i have found that even 26 years removed from training with joe, i have an almost metronome-like feel for pace (at least when fit), and i attribute that to my 7 years with smtc. i race without a watch, i train without a garmin; at various points in my 40s i could run 4 mile tempos on the track in the dark, start my watch, press the split key at each 800, and run perfectly even pace without seeing a split until after i finished. it's like "using the force"...
that's my story and i'm sticking to it,
cush