Oh dear … well deserved
You’ve now inspired me to get back in to AVDP when I get back from hols … and just fixate on getting through the first three to begin with
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you being a KNIGHT won’t you be doing it at extra intensity?
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Today was the first day that I feel I completed AVDP. My qualifiers are that I did it in Erg Mode, I did not grind to a halt, I hit my power outputs and I had no pauses.
I was roasted after #3; I gutted #4 out and I struggled to keep up with the cadence changes in #5.
I suffered hard today and I am very proud of my effort!
(also new numbers via Half Monty from just two weeks ago)
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Done AVDP for the first time tonight. I was dreading it, even more so as I had been out for a few beers last night. But I managed to complete it without a break* I would still say Nine Hammers is the one I dread the most
*Ok no strictly true, I dropped my phone and unclipped to pick it up before continuing.
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Brilliant effort !
Me too this week.
I got 2 minutes in to interval 1, 3 in to interval 2 … that’s as good as it got.
Too hard 
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Done my first AVDP today 5th week in to my first general road plan. Couldn’t agree more regarding the 4th interval was the hardest trying to get the cadence but last was easiest ( even though hurting a lot ) out of the 5
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Went to the dark places for the second time. I smashed it albeit at 10% reduced because of fatigue issues last week. Back in The game now 
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This thread inspired me to do AVDP on Wednesday this week. With increased MAP Numbers …going well unit Interval 4. Failed on 4th interval around 2.30 mark, just as the power increased … Same again on interval 5 around 3 min mark. Feeling sorry for myself and absolutely wrecked!!!
Went back at it today on The Wretched, worrying if I would pop!! Felt great and managed to set 20min power record. So week finished welll
Forgot how good that workout is. Great mix of race footage, visuals, music and storyline/text prompts to keep me entertained. Really absorbing @David.McQuillen.KoS I tip my cap to you pulling this epic together back in the day!!!
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Best ever effort on AVDP this week (on reasonably new numbers). Completed first three intervals at 100%, cracked early in interval 4 and needed to catch my breath, then reduced to 95% for remainder of 4 and all of 5.
Rider type is pursuiter, so the first interval is a cruise, but my weakness is sustained so I just can’t recover quick enough to hit those 4th and 5th intervals fully
Still feels damn good to get through the workout at those levels though
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I did AVDP for the very first time, today. I did it in ERG mode. Only reduction was MAP at 90% as part of the KOS training plan. I was nervous going in because my legs were still feeling my efforts from Fri & Sat.
For me, the 3rd and 5th intervals were the hardest. The lower cadences and long standing efforts with the long sprint at the end on the 3rd interval were hard. The 4th at higher cadences wasn’t as bad even tho I got tired towards the end and my RPE was lower. The 5th interval again at lower cadences and with the constant stand sit stand sit was insane. I knew I wouldn’t get thru it unless I could get into a rhythm, so after the first minute I just stayed sitting and gutted it out. I think I also started concentrating on better breathing in the 4th interval, too which seemed to help. But, I made it thru.
Afterward I did a Recovery Spin session and was barely getting 65rpms. Just getting thru that 15 minutes of the recovery spin was hard.
I don’t know if I would’ve made it on 100% MAP, today. It’s possible, but it would’ve been close - probably more on the mental side. Without that intense weekend before, tho, I would definitely have made it through on 100%. Still would’ve hurt just as much, tho.
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Very similiar experiences on my side. Made AVDP today with MAP @90% within the same KOS training plan 
Only difference here is that I found the 4th interval the hardest one. I can cope with lower cadences better than higher ones when fatigue sets in. Interestingly that’s never the case in the Full Frontal test where I do the 5 minutes MAP well above 100 RPM. Last Dark Place still is extremely hard with it’s constant changes between sitting and standing. This time I made it though. Last time I remember I struggled but that was with MAP @100% then.
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I’ve only been using a smart trainer for about a month, now. When I was using my dumb trainer, I usually preferred a lower cadence because it was easier to hold for longer, tho it depended on how close I was to the next gear. Sometimes I would end up switching back and forth between gears especially for longer efforts. But, generally, I tended to prefer a lower cadence. After getting used to the smart trainer, I’ve found it easier to hold a higher cadence because without worrying about the gearing I can more easily settle into a comfortable cadence. In level mode or on a dumb trainer, the most comfortable cadence always seemed to be right in the middle between gears, plus, increasing cadence also meant increasing power, so the power-to-cadence options were limited. In ERG mode, I can hold any power at any cadence, which makes it easier to hold those higher power numbers, especially without having to get on top of a new gear.
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Yyyyeeeaaaassss! AVDP completed at 100% intensity today. Should have been yesterday but life got in the way, so started it fairly fresh.
Wait, what’s that shadow?
Oh. Hello Full Frontal 
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Just did AVDP for the first time and ended up in spiral of death in the dying seconds of the 3rd interval. Then completed the rest of the workout at 95% and felt quite miserable about it… I feel a lot better after reading this thread though 
Thank you all for sharing! 
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Yeah - that’s a fine outcome !! Well done.
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Well done. You will smash it next time and endorphins will kick in big time.
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New numbers and new plan (it was the Monday of the second week) and I did AVDP.
Not feeling that fresh at all.
I came from Butter and The Shovel both at 100% (Wednesday and Thursday) and then after a longer strength workout on Friday (the only day off the bike) which caused me sore quads till Monday. Plus endurance and structured outdoor cycling Saturday and Sunday.
I used to fear AVDP more, but I think now I am learning how to deal better with misery. Other times I would quit after the first interval, but yesterday I persisted.
The forth interval is really terrible if you are not that fresh and running new numbers. I had to pause for 15-20 seconds a bit before the short (blue) FTP segment, but then I was able to fight with my life and finished the almost one minute final part on my MAP power target.
The last interval, exactly as others said, I have been thinking of skipping during the whole 3-min recovery, but then I faced it.
Of course, I forgot the Elements of Style and had an ugly fight to the end.
For that final 10-sec sprint I saved my legs of raising the cadence to 110 rpm and preferred to stop before 5-sec to the end. I know I was able to smash the pedals to the end but was afraid it could give my a lesion instead of any additional gains.
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AVDP has always been horrible, even though MAP is my strength according to the 4DP (130% of my FTP). I usually dial down the MAP intensity to reach about 110-115% of my FTP during the intervals, otherwise I’m cooked by the 3rd or 4th interval.
First attempt for me at AVDP this week. It’s a brutal session at 100% intensity. MAP is my strongest metric, but then that means highest power target too. So not really an advantage.
I went into it reasonably fresh, but a bit later in the day than I would have liked. Anyway I battled through the first 3 dark places on target, but then blew up completely midway through the 4th. Took a short break and then somehow got through the last stint at full power. I was totally shattered at the end!
So technically a “fail”, but I did hit my max HR on the 3rd and 5th efforts and the others were all very close. So I’m pretty sure I got the desired training stimulus from the session. I really had nothing left in the tank and pushed myself right to the edge. It certainly passed the Coggan reps to failure concept!
It would have been nice to complete all 5 intervals on target, but I’m happy enough with 4 out of 5 as a first attempt. It was the very short recovery times that did me in rather than the MAP efforts themselves. I would either have to be totally fresh or on old MAP numbers to get through all 5 intervals in one piece.
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I also have a MAP >130% FTP and duly died on the 4th interval at 100% intensity. But I think that’s probably better for training stimulus than reducing the intensity just to complete the workout.
Be interesting to hear what the coaches think about that. Is it better to do 3 or 4 MAP intervals at full intensity vs 5 at 10-20% reduced intensity?
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