Race wheels vs training wheels

Training wheels = durable, a plus if they are relatively inexpensive to replace/repair should something happen to them

Race wheels = aerodynamic, generally deep profile rims and discs

A good set of race wheels can be had for the price of a used deep front wheel and a rear disc cover--probably ~$500-750 total.  They can, of course, be had for much more too.

Agree with above.  The only problem is that a disc cover cannot be made for the current shimano r500 rear wheel your bike came with.  If you have a non-Shimano rear wheel, then a rear disc cover can likely be made.

Just so you know though, "training wheels" can be used for training AND racing.  Nothing wrong with that.  Are racing wheels faster?  Sure...but it's not a requirement.  I raced my entire first season on training wheels and still posted bike splits in the top 20%. 

I now use a 404 front (used) and disc cover for my training wheel like Johnny mentioned above ($600 total) and picked up a little speed.

Congrats on your P2.  Solid bike with great heritage.  Cervelo actually made decent wheel choice at that price point. I have some R500A's that came stock on one of my bikes.  According to Shimano tech docs, the "A" version has bladed spokes which are a bit more aero (vs double-butted spokes).  I use 'em as back up wheels so only logged a few hundred mi.  They seem OK so far.  Not stiffest, lightest, nor best handling wheels, but no major faults & clearly faster (more aero) than my Ksyrium SSC SL's or traditional 32-spoke Open Pro/Ultegra's. 

Investing in very good "event wheels" might gain you 30-60sec in Oly bike leg (25mi).  That est is based on published testing of very similar wheel (prev gen R550) by rouesartisanales.com, and Zipp's ads of power/speed benefits of their various wheels. 

IMHO- spending $1-2,000+ on race wheels is not worth it unless you are already close to the podium, or have $$ to spend on bling.  I am not against race wheels, but most ave AGers would gain more speed investing that $$$ elsewhere (training, coaching, bike fit, etc.). 

Totally agree.  Your race wheels are just fine unless you are serious about winning and competing.  It is not like a Cervelo P2 is a bike from Walmart?  Yo uwill have  abetter bike than 75% of the peopl eout there anyway?  For me as a novice who is "a middle of the pack" guy, I have found that renting race wheels for events is best for me.  Plus, they really are only going to make a significant difference in a longer distance race (HIM or IM).    I can usually rent a pair of Zipp 404's from my LBS for about $80 for a weekend.  When you think of it, you may do 2-3 long distance race a year at the most?  that is a long time before you end up covering that $1800+ for fancy wheels.  Just my two cents.

Like what others said, for <$500-600 USD you can have the best of both worlds. A good >50mm front wheel and disk cover (if it works with the rear wheel).

Don't overlook the tires & tubes though, plenty of watts can be wasted there on race day that it doesn't matter what wheels you're riding.

I raced on r500's with some pro-race tires. Could probably have been 30s faster with better wheels, but for 1200$ it didn't make a lot of sense to move from 60ish to 50ish position. . They were fine even for IM - solid, and I think they have really good hubs.

I since bought a powertap/kinlin wheel from wheelbuilder, which is also a 32 spoke workhorse, but it has a cover.

Just remember you are basically paying X dollars to move up Y spots. Decide if that's worth the cost.