Is your watch helping you train—or changing how you think you feel?
In the first episode of Still Running, Ashley and Trax unpack their complicated relationships with wearable technology, from obsessively checking sleep scores to letting heart rate variability shape expectations for a workout or race.
Exercise physiologist Dr. Rachele Pojednic explains what HRV actually measures, why your individual trends matter more than a supposedly “good” number and how wearable data can influence how you feel—even when the data is incomplete or inaccurate.
Two-time Olympian Kara Goucher shares why she has spent most of her career training and racing by feel, how she learned to recognize her body’s subtle cues and why she believes runners need to intentionally practice racing without relying on their watches.
Finally, biomechanist Dr. Kirsten Seagers Szalapski explains where wearables can be useful, where their limitations remain—particularly for women—and why your nervous system still knows more than an algorithm.
The takeaway: Data can be a useful tool, but it should add context—not override what your body is telling you.
In this episode:
- What HRV actually measures—and why a low number isn’t automatically bad
- Why your personal baseline matters more than comparing your data with someone else’s
- How wearable feedback can change your perception of sleep, recovery and readiness
- Why sleep-stage data from consumer devices is only an estimate
- When taking off your watch may be better for your mental health and performance
- How Kara Goucher learned to train and race by feel
- Why watch-free workouts can help runners rebuild their internal sense of effort
- The benefits and trade-offs of watches, rings, chest straps and arm-band sensors
- Why women remain underrepresented in wearable-validation research
- Why a single bad score may not mean much—and your body still deserves the final say
Meet the guests:
Dr. Rachele Pojednic is an exercise physiologist, researcher and science communicator. She is the director of education at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine and a faculty member in Stanford’s Human Biology program. Read her article, “Should You Trust Your Wearable?”, and follow her on Instagram.
Kara Goucher is a two-time Olympian, World Championships medalist, author, television commentator, podcaster and mom. She is the author of The Longest Race and co-host of Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara. Follow Kara on Instagram.
Dr. Kirsten Seagers Szalapski is a biomechanist and movement scientist focused on injury prevention, wearable sensing and the real-world application of biomechanics. She is a research associate and sports biomechanist at the Women’s Health, Sports & Performance Institute.
Resources:
- Research on wearable fitness trackers and activity-adequacy mindsets
- Stanford Mind & Body Lab
- Activity Adequacy Mindset Measure
Still Running is presented by Altra.
Fleet Feet is a founding partner of Still Running.
Visit stillrunningpod.com to learn more and sign up for the newsletter. Subscribe to Still Running wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.
