If you’ve followed my recovery conversations lately, you know there’s a theme emerging: people deeply overestimate what their legs are telling them and massively underestimate what their systems are trying to say. And every time I post about this, the comment section becomes a case study in endurance-athlete psychology.

Suddenly people are explaining why recovery doesn’t apply to them. Why they’re different. Why their nervous system is “trained for fatigue.” Why their mileage is “refreshing.” Why ultras require constant motion. Why rest makes them feel unprepared. And once again, specificity gets dragged into the conversation like a get-out-of-recovery-free card.

Let’s clear the fog.

What Specificity Actually Means

Specificity means preparing for the demands of your event. If your race is long, you train long. If your race is multi-day, you train your ability to show up repeatedly. If your event involves terrain, fueling strategies, or hours on feet, you rehearse those things.

But none of that means putting yourself into endless fatigue.
None of that means stacking marathon after marathon like pancakes.
None of that means pretending your body isn’t keeping score.

True specificity is intentional. It’s targeted. It’s designed to teach your body how to do something, not to drown it in stress and hope adaptation magically appears. You don’t get ready for a 100-mile race by living in chronic depletion. You get ready by practicing race elements, then letting your system recover so the training actually sticks.

Where the “Built Different” Crowd Goes Off the Rails

When people say things like “movement calms my mind,” or “rest makes me anxious,” or “I work better under fatigue,” they’re not describing athletic adaptation. They’re describing emotional coping. Tiredness feels familiar. Constant motion feels safe. Being depleted feels productive.

It makes perfect sense on a nervous-system level, but it has nothing to do with specificity.

This is where athletes twist the idea into something unrecognizable. They use specificity to justify constant load, to outrun discomfort, to avoid the slower, quieter work of actually recovering. That’s not training. That’s self-soothing with mileage.

And it works… until it doesn’t.

Even the elites—the real elites, not the influencer-elites—take recovery seriously. They deload. They disappear after races. They rebuild before asking their bodies for more. They understand that being good at endurance doesn’t exempt you from physiology. It makes you more responsible for honoring it.

Why Ultra & Multi-Day Training Still Require Recovery

Ultra runners like to believe that because their event is long, they must be in a constant state of fatigue to be “ready.” And yes, learning to move while tired is part of the practice. But so is learning to reset.

You can absolutely train long days, back-to-back sessions, fueling under stress, problem-solving when your brain is foggy. That’s part of the sport. But the part that makes those sessions effective—the part that turns stress into adaptation—is the recovery that follows.

You cannot train your way into resilience if your system never comes down.
You cannot build durability from a place of depletion.
You cannot out-tough hormones, nerves, mitochondria, or the gut.

The athletes who thrive in long-course events aren’t the ones who live tired. They’re the ones who can push when needed and downshift when necessary. They’re the ones who can manage their stress response, regulate their nervous system, and actually absorb training instead of collecting it like debt.

Marathoners, This Applies to You Too

Marathon runners often borrow the ultra mindset and convince themselves every long run needs to mimic race-day fatigue. But specificity doesn’t mean suffering every Sunday. You don’t build marathon strength by grinding yourself down weekly. You build it by layering progressive stress with actual space for your systems to catch up.

You need the tired days.
You also need the calm days.
You especially need the down weeks.
And you absolutely need post-race recovery.

Specificity teaches your body the demands of your event.
Recovery teaches your body how to perform those demands well.

Stress, Identity, and the Runners Who Fear Recovery

Here’s the part no one puts in their Instagram captions: some athletes use fatigue as their identity. They feel safest when exhausted. They feel productive when depleted. They feel “in training” when everything hurts a little.

But this isn’t performance; it’s survival mode. And survival mode can coexist with impressive mileage, but it cannot coexist with long-term progress.

Recovery threatens the illusion of control.
Recovery asks you to listen.
Recovery asks you to stop numbing with movement.

That doesn’t mean these athletes are weak—it means they’re human. But it also means they’re misunderstanding what training is supposed to do.

The Real Specificity: Training Stress + Recovery Stress

The athletes who consistently show up strong aren’t built different.
They’re built smart.

They stress the system.
Then they let the system recover.
Then they stress the system again.

That’s where the magic happens. Not in the grind itself, but in the oscillation.

Preparation requires stress.
Performance requires recovery.
And no event—ultra, multi-day, Ironman, marathon—changes that fundamental rule.

Specificity isn’t suffering.
It’s strategy.
Recovery is where the strategy becomes results.

No matter how built different you believe you are, you cannot outrun biology. Not in training. Not in racing. Not in longevity. And certainly not in back-to-back-to-back event prep.

Where to Go Next If You Want Training That Actually Works

If this hit a few nerves (in a good way), you’re not alone. Most runners are piecing together training from social media snippets, then wondering why their body feels confused, tired, or borderline mutinous.

You don’t need more chaos.
You need structure that respects both stress and recovery.

If you’re ready for training that actually moves the needle, here’s where to start:

Coaching Programs
If you want guidance through real periodization, strategic specificity, and recovery that supports performance, my coaching programs are built for athletes who want to feel strong and grounded, not exhausted and guessing.
Explore options: Basic Coaching | Advanced Coaching

Thrive³ Strength Plan
If your durability is slipping or you’re realizing your “built different” era is being held together by vibes and compression sleeves, strength is the missing piece. Thrive³ builds power and resilience without competing with your run training.
Get stronger here: Thrive³ Strength Plan

Fuel Like You Mean It
If your recovery struggles are tied to underfueling (more common than you think), this guide simplifies carbs, electrolytes, and race-day nutrition so your training actually lands.
Dial in your fueling: Fuel Like You Mean It

And if you’re still unsure where you fit in this whole specificity-plus-recovery conversation, send me a message. We’ll figure out what your next step should look like.

Training doesn’t have to feel like a guessing game.
Let’s build something that actually supports the athlete you’re becoming.