Training & Nutrition - Effective training for long rides

I've got an MS 150 in October. I've just finished my "transition" from mtb to roadie. I did 32 miles 3 days ago in just over 2 hours and, though I was wiped, I still felt pretty good. I did a pathetic 5 mile recovery Thursday and yesterday was off because of my Mom-iL's b-day. I was gonna do 30 miles tomorrow but I got irritated today (didn't feel like I was Lance after the day off) and I'm gonna go out and try another 30mi today (on a pretty weak diet for the past 2 days. I see a bonk ;D ).

Here's my question: what's the best way to build up my endurance (so I don't get irritated after a day off and feel like I'm slipping)? Should I ride a few days at, say 1/3 of my max distance, then take a day off then a max distance? Or should I do max distance, recovery ride, day off, max distance, recovery, etc... Do the short rides get me anything (aside from cadence and pedalling mechanics practice)? I'm a teacher and my summer is drawing to a close so I feel like I should be putting in long rides (I'll commute for shorter distances when the year starts). What's a good basic plan?

OK, firstly, if you didn't already know, you need to gradually build up your distance. However, this also needs to be interspersed with regular recovery rides or days off completely. Maybe if you leave your shorter rides for the week and attempt your longer ones on the weekend when you've got more time (the thing about long-distance cycling is you only need to go fast enough to cover the distance - not set any land speed records).

I'd advocate the longer rides on Saturday, with an easy recovery ride on the Sunday. During the week let your legs decide how they feel about the matter, with maybe a couple of moderate rides in the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday areas.

Do one long ride per week. Since you're new to road cycling, I'd recommend complete days off vs recovery rides. Also, check your morning heart rate and be sensitive to changes in mood, vigor, etc. that may indicate overtraining. So a possible schedule might be:

Saturday - Long ride 30mi. You should be wiped out after this ride.

Tuesday - 2 or 3 10 min intervals 2-3 mph faster than you ride on Saturday. Recover completely between each interval. You should be tired but not wiped out after this ride.

Thursday - Ride 15 mi at a steady pace 1-2 mph faster than you rode on Saturday. You should be tired but not wiped out after this ride.

Increase your mileage 10% each week and every 4th week reduce mileage to 2nd week level and then build again for 3 weeks, etc.

Take a nap whenever you can and lie down or sit vs standing as much as possible during the day.

Ride for time. Forget about speed, and just learn to ride longer periods without stopping. When you have the ability and experience to stay on the bike for two or three hours straight, you'll probably be ready for any kind of charity ride.

Later on you can apply effort for short periods and get faster.....