Time to start adding some tough workouts to get ready for Cheaha. Here are a few that I do:
1. Warm up well. Do 4 climbs on a 6-8 minute hill (4-6% grade) in heart rate 4-5a zones. Alternate between harder gear (50 rpm) for 30 seconds and a slightly easier gear (70 rpm) for 60 seconds. Recover on the descent and go again.
2. Warm up well. On a 6-8% hill, do 5 x 90 second intervals. Stay seated the first 60 seconds and stand for the last 30 seconds. Attain heart rate zone 5c (max it out, baby) by the top. Recover for 3 minutes and go again. After the 5 intervals, ride in zones 4-5a for 20 minutes on a rolling course. This is a tough workout!
3. Warm up well. Do 5 x 30 second sprints up a 6-8% hill out of the saddle. These should be all out efforts at 90+ rpm. 3 minute recovery between each. Do 3 sets of these (total of 15) with 5 minutes between sets. The remainder of the ride should be easy.
My max heart rate is 185. My zone 4 is 159-169, zone 5a is 170-173, 5b is 174-179 and 5c is 180+. If you don't pay attention to heart rate, the above workouts are pretty much maximum efforts.
Please understand that these are my workouts.
If you do these, it is at your own risk. My lawyers want me to point out that you should check with your doctor before trying these workouts to make sure it is safe for you to push yourself so hard. Please don't do these if you don't already have a good base. Use your noggin!