Kilian Jornet's Advice to Race Faster, For Non-Elites | Extramilest Show #51 

My new Kilian UTMB 2022 interview #52 is out now: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cU7cNo7ZwUk.html Congrats to Michael Marchand for winning a COROS APEX Pro on Extramilest Show #51. What was your favorite takeaway, lesson or quote from this video? Please let us know in the comments below.

This was a fantastic interview. I learned a ton about how he has been training, how he is training differently after having children, and some awesome tips and reaffirmations on making sure EASY is easy. With that being said, my favorite takeaway is this one (17:04) “Adaptations NEVER come from ONE session. It’s about doing repetition of hard sessions all over the year. 30, 40, 50 hard sessions during the year, that’s what makes adaptation, not just one hard session.” Sometimes I fall into that mistake of ‘Okay, if I do this one crazy, big session, I will gain so much.’ but of course that’s not true. Kilian’s comment on adaptations also reminded me of this great quote from Renato Canova: “Training is not the work you do but the effect it has on your body” Below are some notes I took so I remember them and thought to share with the viewers here. (16:00) “Plan is the dream. But reality is that, plan to reality, is very different. We need to be able to adapt to plan(reality?).” (I laughed at myself when he talked about plan vs. reality. I think all runners can resonate with this ha!) (13:20) Q: Main common mistake you see intensity wise, anything that stands out for you? “I think people go too fast. What we call regenerative, easy running, would be classical Zone 1. But people never go there. They go to Zone 2, 3 during what is supposed to be easy run. That means they are not able to recover from hard sessions or when you do hard session you will not be able to go hard. So it makes all the training in the same area(zone). EASY means EASY... It's not about going fast, it's about making your body move and have adaptations[that you want to have] and regeneration to be able to do very well, push hard when you do hard sessions." (14:30) [Second mistake] “Not taking into account all the different stresses of the body. We think about, okay, this is the workload and this session puts ‘stress 2’ on my body. Then we think about that, to plan the next hard session. But you could have a lot of stress at work, family stuff, all these stresses that might be bigger now, [so the previous work that felt like stress ‘2’ won’t be ‘2’ the time.]” (23:04) Training =/ Race “At the end of the day, a training session is not a race. I feel like a lot of people racing in the training sessions.” (26:09) Individuals “Because we are individuals, what works for me it will probably not work for you.” (30:26) On Tips on Journaling “Like training, it’s better to be consistent, than measure a lot for just one day.” (35:18) Q: How do you train your mind? “Be realistic about what your capacities are, not overestimate yourself. And then go into that discomfort and practice to accept that discomfort.” (53:07) Closing Thoughts (some great comments and insights here) “It’s about motivation at the end. Being happy doing what you do. We do it because we love it. It’s not an obligation. No body is saying you need to train. You train because you love it. Many times we lose that on the way, we feel that it is obligation and it is not giving us fun. But it should [be fun]. Especially for young athletes. Not focus on the goals, but focus on the process. Of course you enjoy racing, when things go well. But that’s a very few days every year. What you need to love, is the training. You need to love being out. You need to love to do the workout. And then you need to find out what really motivates you. Sometimes it’s community. You want to go training because you go with your friends. So make that your training environment. Sometimes you want to go to the mountains, the landscapes… enjoy the process. Loving the process.. results will come. But if you focus on the results, I don’t think anything good can arrive there.” Thank you Floris for this interview, and thanks to Kilian for sharing a lot of unique experiences and insights!

Totally agreeing with "Adaptability comes with repetition which requires patience and consistency" which many people don't have when it comes to training...

Takeaway: Knew it, but Kilian expressing..."it's ok to go 6,7 kph" legitimized to another order of magnitude easy efforts can be productive training; also, was pleasant hearing his seal of approval to train ( i call it playing in the woods) for just the sheer joy of it. I think being joyful is the result we're all wanting!

My takeaway is that even with two children, a world-class ultra-runner makes training work for him!

I love his last comment. “Enjoy the process more than the goal.” I’m training to BQ and I’m a very goal oriented person. It’s a great reminder to soak up the process and not just the goal. Thank you.

“It’s important to have goals but it is the experience that really matters” Thank you Floris and Kilian - excellent discussion!

Really positive athlete with zero ego for such accomplishments in the running world. Thanks for the interview!

Fantastic interview . Everything you need to know all wrapped up . What a great guy . A real superstar willing to offer so much information and personal techniques and experiences .

Brilliant interview. So many takeaways, but the reminder that a race is all about the experience whether you finish 1st, 2nd or at the back is what it's all about. Keep up the great work!

Fantastic talk Floris, many thanks for all the inspiration you give by your YT podcasts. Great take away and learning from your talk with Kilian was the adaptation of training plans (the dream) to your daily life and how hearth rate variation can help you with regards to your actual performance of stress. All the best

Many thanks for another great interview Floris. It was certainly worth the wait. I found Killian’s multiple breakdowns of his training zones fascinating. I’ve always adopted a singular approach based on threshold heart rates whereas he tailors his zones to the goal of the exercise whether defined by naso breathing or feel. All of which he takes into account when considering his overall running volume. Amazed he signed up for an interview hours before a gruelling race….very generous! Keep up the great content.

Thanks for the insightful and inspirational interview. My favorite lesson: enjoy the process (of training) and embrace the suffering as it always leads to great personal rewards.

Great interview .You have interviewed the best on road and off . Keep up the good work. Really enjoyed it

Great conversation. Kilian always seems so willing to give his time. The thing that stood out to me was how much importance he places on feelings and emotions.

Great interview! Thank you for getting the best out of your guest! As a regular/recreational runner, I learned a lot and look forward to applying those pieces of advice :)

Great interview! So true that you tend to forget about the past trainings/races and that you only remember the good things😺

Great interview. Especially loved it when Kilian spoke about focusing on the process, rather than the goal. You can so clearly hear how much he loves the sport, the people, the communities and the mountains and its a huge privilege to get an insight into his thinking process and what motivates him to push so hard. A legend of the sport, no doubt, and would be incredible to bump into him in the mountains some day...

Absolutely amazing interview. So insightful and a privilege to hear from Killian. My favourite point that he touched on was the fact that you have to find your why and reason for training and running because that is how it becomes and stays something you do out of love for the sport and not obligation

Fantastic interview Floris. Killian is such an inspiration.. I have only one short phrase that almost gave me goosebumps.. "Focus on the progress".💪🏽

Excellent interview! Thanks for the insights, especially about consistency and remembering the reasons why we do this.

Great genuine talk with a lot to take away from! Thank you for this one.

Hi. I just started running in desember. Finding this channel great with good information on Maf running and other subjects. This was a great interview and my biggest takeaway is taking all stressers, slepp ect in to account when planning a session. Thank you very much for the work you do on this channel. Much appreciated!

Awesome conversation with Kilian. For me it was the same as you when I started training at low HR. The improvement I see is massive compared vs what I was doing before. Again, some great information here. Keep the videos coming!

Excellent interview, really enjoyed this, lots of practical and useful takeaways to apply to training (and life!)

Thank you Floris, your podcast gives me that extra boost I need to get out of that training hole I’m currently in, really inspiring talk with Kilian. My takeaway is Kilians adaption of his zones, either heart rate or power or even just by feel, alas if you go by feel you should probably capture it in a diary. But mainly not to be too focused on just HR or then reconsider different zones profiles for different training types… definitely something I will think about. Thank you both for that piece of inspiration

Thank you thank you for another great interview! Your videos have played a key role in my MAF training!! There were many great takeaways and reminders, like enjoying the process, but I especially liked when he pointed out how all stresses in life can be factors to be aware of. This is one of the key fundamentals of the Maffetone Method.

Thank you for this very interesting and enjoyable interview. Two points that really drew my attention: first when Kilian talked about enjoying the training process I identified myself 100% with it; second when you mentioned about training in zone 2 which is something totally new for me.

Hey Floris! I love the channel and the podcast! I was volunteering at HR this year and was in Silverton to see this amazing finish. My key take away from this episode was to listen to the body and adjust your training plan accordingly. And to stay positive! I also love the discussion about cardiac drift and the effect the length of a workout has on the adaptations that training has on the body. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing that content with us. Running easy is really important and that Kilian also see it so important.

Awesome interview. Thank you! I like his approach of training based what adaptation (metabolic or physical) he aims to stimulate. Makes a lot of sense. He runs fasted or with carbs. He runs tired, in the heat or at altitude, etc, all with different adaptation goals. The inclusion of oxygen saturation in his training is very intriguing.

Fantastic talk, thanks for sharing, Subscribed. As a freediver its great to see runners talking about breathing, breathe work and how important it can be for your running and improvement.

Beautiful interview with so many takeaway points. The point I loved the most: training plan is like a dream but you need to adapt it to the realities of your life to get the most out of it and adaptations come slowly from doing same things again and again.

Great interview. I believe a lot can be taken at whatever stage of the journey you are at. I think really the most important thing is to enjoy it. It is easy to sometimes forget why we are doing it. Also being true with where you are at in your life / training / day and adapting what you had planned. I was very moved by your closing words.

My best takeaway ‘ lie to yourself that you will stop/eat at the next stop’ 🤣 to get over the tough moments while running or getting over the pain-caves. Also the truth that ‘you are running that race because you wanted to be der’!

My favourite takeway from the podcast is journaling and in my opinion very connected to it is to control if you do not go too hard with your trainings. Putting in the journal how you feel after current sessions can be a great knowledge base for the future. It is really easy to train too hard and I think the method explained by Killian is super helpful. Thanks for the podcast.

Perfect timing. I'm halfway through "Training for the uphill athlete" and Kilian's advice throughout the book is really helpful.

First time I listen to an episode from the Extramilest Show and I'm really impressed by the quality of your questions so good job! Kilian is definitely one of the greatest athlete of all time, he's always there to give advices to his fans and has an interesting philosophy with his brand NNormal! Mt favourite takeaway is probably "Easy means easy" (14:06), a simple but very effective advice that many (including myself) should apply more often!

I think it’s very important what he says about “recreational” runners never go to zone 1 and never really easy. That message needs to reach al the ones that need it ⭐️

Great interview with one of the best in the sport! I trained for a 50 mile ultra last year (2021) and ran all of my runs at what felt like z4 threshold heart rate. Needless to say, I made it to the 50 with a few injuries and struggled at times to hit my weekly mileage. It is so refreshing to hear Kilian really speak to easy runs being EASY, z1 and z2. I think that is a huge takeaway from this interview.

For as a newcomer in the ultra running community I more and more starting to embrace to quote of "enjoy the process ". It have taken some time to put the "fighting" for improvements away and really start to love what I am doing. And maybe most important, I started to show my self love and respect. To really listen to how my body is feeling and what I am in the mood for. Last year when I started ultra I only cared about performance and I ran my self to injury. To hear so many good athletes, and especially Kilian, say that we need to listen to our self and be adaptive is so motivating and it gives us happy amateurs confidence to really trust the process. Thank you!

Hi Floris, Thanks for this Episode, loved it! The most important takeaway I've got from this episode is how Kilian deals with the Paincave. Splitting the Race into small chunks and think of it as a ladder. Love that! DEVIDE AND CONQUER 💪

Awesome interview Floris..... also a huge fan of Kilian and his insane hill running

Floris, this was brilliant. I agree that consistency and doing something over and over means that your body adapts and improves. It's so good to see you back. Don't leave it so long before the next podcast!

Thanks for a inspiring interview! I ran a small 100 miles ultramarathon in Sweden were Kilian was participating and it he seems to be just as humble and grounded in running as he is in this interview. My primary home takes was the importance of consistency and doing sessions in zone 1/2. I also agree with the focus on training instead of specific races although they are fun and a bonus.

This has to be the BEST video and Podcast I've watched and listened to. Thanks so much to taking the time to sit down and do this interview. Kilian IS a huge role model for me and my running and Floris my friend you are a huge role model for me when it come to running and RU-vid. Motivation to me is "what makes me happy" and then doing more of it. When it comes too consistency, you will see the results over time not just doing sometime a few times and expecting a huge payoff.

Thank you so much for this insightful interview!

Hearing Killian’s take on staying in zone one and how beneficial that can be. Thanks Florist for putting this out.

Plan + Adaptation + Consistency = Balance Living and training😊 (Life goal plan) Always listening and accepting what my mind and body say is keeping me on this happy healthy path. Thanks so much, Foris and Kilian for the good reminding.❤🧡💛

Thank you so much - hugely appreciated approaching my first Ultra - 13 weeks out

Thanks for this interview, Floris. As a novice runner (4 months into training), Kilian's perspective is really interesting to me. Like he mentioned, the tendency to "race the training" is something I actively battle with. I've injured my knees multiple times now with overtraining. Knowing that elite athletes are not always pushing 100% is very motivating for me as it makes training seem more manageable. I never even thought about journaling my runs. When I realized this, I also realized that the only documentation of my runs are on my watch or in Strava. I have no data on how I *feel* during the training sessions. I'll be documenting runs from now on. I also like his thoughts on cutting goals into smaller goals to trick your brain into pushing forward. I use this chunking process in other aspects of my life and it's extremely effective.

So happy to have come across your podcast, great questions! I took so much from this interview, but the last bit where Kilian reminded us that its about our motivation at the end, being happy doing what we do, not getting lost in it being an obligation or forgetting the why along the way, simply put loving the process, loving the trails, loving our friends and the amazing running community! Finding the joy in whatever happens

Awesome conversation and interview! I loved the reminder to enjoy the process - the progress and races will come together, but we are doing this because we genuinely love to be out running and working towards bigger goals!

Mr. Gierman, very well-prepared interview. Thank you!

Congratulations on the podcast, Floris. This is a great one with many gems. For me, I loved the importance of journaling and capturing feelings and sensations - it isn't just useful, but it is "also beautiful" and as important as the hard data. To me it is such as great way of using running as a portal in to our inner worlds and for self discovery. Thank you!

great show and obviously a very interesting and likable person. thanks for the great video and the inspiration i've gotten from it

As well intensity of effort and ability, Kilian has a balance between the thinking side and the feeling side of running. His example in that is my key take-away. Thank you, Floris and Kilian. This was inspiring. Excellent audio quality was a bonus!

I always appreciate (and need) the reminder that no one hard session will provide results. Committing to, and trusting, the process is key. Thanks for sharing this interview.

My takeaway from this was Kilian's closing observations on making sure you enjoy the training. Great interview, thanks Floris and Kilian.

Really great interview! I appreciated Kilian's closing comments about motivation & enjoying the process to make this a lifelong hobby!

Hoi Floris, what a wonderful surprise to hear more about the great Killian. You did great job with this one, and got Killian to share so generously his thinking. I found the insights about the different training zones invaluable for my own training and even for life in general. I really hope that you get more views on this episode, which it really deserves!

He is so special. Thanks for inviting Kilian.

Great show! And I don’t think anyone could do such a good job interviewing this gentleman as you have done.

Floris, thank you so much for this! When Killian said the body always gravitates toward balance and that adaptations don’t happen after one session but many, many sessions, this resonated with me. So when the body is telling me to take it easier or slower, it’s ok and to listen to it rather than being rigid in following a plan. 🙏🏾

I've noticed that I've made it a goal to be able to run continuously in zone 2, as a result I'm constantly at the high end of the zone and starting to undermine the session. This interview helpfully slapped me on the wrist, I'm going to aim to be 10bpm slower than I've been averaging and accept that may be just 6/7kmph, include a chunk of walking and will look unimpressive on strava 😅

one of the best hours I have spent lately listening to this! good stuff!

Breathing through the nose was an idea I got from this interview: it helps me find my gentle pace, thank you.

"A training session is not a race" - something we so easily forget. Potent reminder

The questions you made were really interesting and I am pretty sure Kilian enjoyed the time as well. Remarkable points for me were the focus on process and the importance of registering feelings and taking notes, consistently. Thank you so much for the inspiring interview!

Patience in the process is my biggest takeaway (always need to be reminded 😊). Been running for many years, but only started the low HR training for the last 8 months. The adaptations I'm seeing are tremendous. I would not have been able to sustain the volume today without respecting the zone 1 and zone 2 sessions. As discussed in the video, you take those runs as an opportunity to learn more about your mechanics and body responses. @Floris, Keep up the good work for the running community! 👍🏽

"Enjoy the process, don't just focus on the results!" Such an important message as Kilian said, the races may only be a few days in a year whereas the training is the rest of that time. So important to remember when you are in the thick of training and can tend to get tunnel vision about the goal race. I also thought it was important how he emphasized the importance of slowing down while running in order to be able to work harder and also to listen to what your body is telling you and gauge your training for that day based on that. Thank you for such an amazing, informative interview :)

Kilian Jornet being Kilian Jornet in the episode is good enough takeaway, lesson and quote in itself!

Fantastic interview as always.You have a great interview style Floris which allows the guest to speak and get deeply into what they want to say.My biggest takeaway was in regards to listening to your body and not becoming a slave to the training plan.But the interview was full of golden nuggets.Great job

The way Kilian sad about divide the race in small portions is the best. Congratulations for the interview

'Train because you love it, sometimes we forget that' - 'You need to love being out there and know what is motivating you' - This. Thanks so much for sharing this, greatly appreciated and much respect to all who train hard and love the process! Respect.

Amazing insights from your conversation! Subscribed.

Great pod really enjoyed this one

So awesome. Great interview!

I very much like hearing the comments that one workout does nothing. It is the culmination of many workouts. I must remember this when training.

Floris, excellent interview of Killian! So many takeaways but if have to list one, “… what you need to love is training, the process, find what’s motivating you…”

Great to have another excellent interview. Thanks, Floris!

That’s a trail running master class! Superb!

A great interview! The best part of this episode has been how Kilian explains the way he managed to perform at such a high level in consecutive short-long-short-long races. Thank you for this guys!

I Finally got the time to watch this is full. A fantastic discussion. Thank you.

Floris, you are a legend!! Thank you for another fantastic interview with such an awesome athlete. It was well worth the wait. I am getting ready for a 56mile ultra race and this interview came at just the right time. My major take aways: The importance of your "Why"; Journalling to keep long term track; Making sure you know what you want from every training session and making them count; family and including them in all your planning, i myself have 2 daughters so i can relate. Thanx again, keep up the Great work, i always look forward to your posts.

Loved this, thank you so much! Biigest takeaway for me was to keep a detailed journal of my training. I already have a record from my watch, but it's pretty basic. I am going to start keeping more details (how i felt, effort, etc), so thanks again 🙂

Happy to hear from such a positive person!

Most relaxed I have seen Kilian in an interview!

Amazing interview where he obviously speaks so much sense on being adaptable, managing intensity, creating the right environment for you to both enjoy training, and perform in races, and journalling consistently. My favourite part though was something a little outside of the box that I have not heard before which is when journalling it is good to make an emotional connection. For example to write who you was with and maybe what you spoke about or how you felt. I think I take this for granted , especially when I run with others

Great interview, lots to take away especially about staying in zone

I actually went for a run this evening and made it absolute chill pace throwing HR out the window and enjoyed it knowing that I was getting a lot out of it and taking it easy was reducing my chance of injury. As a newer runner, it was epic hearing you both talk. Thank you.

Such an amazing interview...... To learn that Kilian's training is not all bust , but a very well rounded take on all life's expectations and challenges. His ability to be aware of the situation and what the mind and body is up for rather than just repeatedly smashing oneself in the hope for better gains... I love low HR training and it all makes perfect sense and works... Thanks for doing the interview !!

been getting super into HR zone training, great to hear Killian's thoughts on it

Great Podcast. As a MAF runner I think the last question dealing with loving the process is so paramount. For myself the enjoyment and peace gained by running at low intensity has been really eye opening. I find a lot of satisfaction in daily runs and training seeing the HR low and being at peace with whatever the pace is that day. For myself, the passion of the process allowed me to be comfortable in my own running skin which helped me be patient enough to find daily commitment.

what a great talks. thanks Floris!

Thanks for the video, I've also just seen 'Dejame Vivir' his Netflix doc - Biggest takeaway from this podcast is the idea that 'not every day can be hard' which I've sometimes struggled with; knowing when to push and when to struggle through. Good luck everyone with the competition!

Hi Floris...a master piece every runner, coach and sport physiology MUST see. Running is easy and Kilian explain with a magnificent simplicity. Well done!!!

At first, congrats on the show. Found it by accident but loving it. I usualy take it on my mp3 and listen along the long runs. About kilian, it is nice to see, that like me, the kids gave us a sense of need to structure our training. I also "found" the treadmill because of my girl and the need to adjust to her with those late night runs inside or while she takes naps. And still its possible to have life, to work and to do what we love. Cheers from Portugal

Yes! Welcome back!!

What an enjoyable and informative conversation. My favorite takeaway is to focus on the different training zones and to remember to enjoy the process.