The Body Battery Myth: What is Real Life Telling You?
- ahunterarnold
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
Episode overview
Is your watch helping you train—or quietly 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.
They bring in exercise physiologist Dr. Rachele Pojednic to explain what HRV actually measures, why individual trends matter more than a supposedly “good” number and how wearable data can affect us psychologically—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 the art of racing is being lost in an increasingly data-driven sport.
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 conversation
Ashley and Trax compare their sleep and HRV data—and the anxiety that can come with checking those numbers every morning.
Trax shares why she stopped wearing her WHOOP before the Boston Marathon and how running without a time goal led to one of her best marathon experiences.
Dr. Rachele Pojednic explains what heart rate variability measures and why a low HRV is not automatically a sign that something is wrong.
Why short-term stress can support performance, while a sustained change from your personal baseline may be worth paying attention to.
Why HRV should be interpreted in the context of your own physiology, circumstances and long-term trends—not compared with someone else’s number.
How wrist placement, skin tone, body hair, temperature and device type can affect wearable readings.
Why sleep-stage data from consumer wearables is an estimate rather than a direct measurement of what is happening in the brain.
How wearable feedback can change how we perceive our sleep, recovery and physical activity—even when our actual behavior has not changed.
When taking off a watch or ring may be better for your mental health and performance.
How wearable data can help you recognize patterns related to sleep routines, alcohol, travel, illness and training load.
Kara Goucher shares how she learned to train with a Swatch, a Timex and, most importantly, an awareness of what different efforts felt like in her body.
Why Kara believes the ability to race by feel is a skill runners need to intentionally practice.
The physical cues Kara used to recognize when she had crossed the line—and when she still had more to give.
Why fartleks, hill repeats and occasional watch-free workouts can help runners rebuild their internal sense of effort.
How Kara reframes effort and success as she ages, even when her current pace looks different from her professional-running years.
Dr. Kirsten Seagers Szalapski explains the benefits and trade-offs of wrist-based watches, rings, chest straps and arm-band sensors.
Why women remain underrepresented in wearable-validation research and how hormonal transitions, pregnancy, postpartum recovery and menopause may affect the data.
How wearables can help runners follow training-load trends without serving as a standalone injury-prediction tool.
Why a single bad score may not mean much—and why listening to your body remains essential.
Meet the guests
Dr. Rachele Pojednic is an exercise physiologist, researcher and science communicator whose work focuses on nutrition, physical activity, muscle physiology, performance and recovery. 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 whose work focuses on injury prevention, wearable sensing and translating biomechanics into real-world applications for athletes and clinicians. She is a research associate and sports biomechanist at the Women’s Health, Sports & Performance Institute.
Resources mentioned
Research on wearable fitness trackers and activity-adequacy mindsets, led by Octavia Zahrt and Dr. Alia Crum
Stanford Mind & Body Lab, directed by Dr. Alia Crum
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