Muscle Imbalance

Went for a massage this morning.  It's getting to that time of year when I decided to try and use up all my yearly benefits before they expire at the end of the year.  At the beginning of the year, I had intended to go about once every two months, but just never got around to it.  2 weeks post marathon and some things are a little achy so thought it would be a good time to go.  Complained a bit about tightness in my calf and was told that my flat feet and possibly my upper right hand side of the body were a cause.  I knew about the flat feet, but I've been able to run with that find since I use stability shoes.  The upper right hand side was something new.  The therapist said it was tighter than my left side and my lower body ws trying to compensate for it, thinking about it I think I know why.  When I do my runs, I usually carry a hand held water bottle.  Normally I try to switch back and forth between hands to even out the load balance. This year, I've noticed my left upper back gets a bit sore when I carry it in my left hand, so I've been favouring carrying it in my right hand. I would say 80% of the time, I'm carrying it in my right hand.  Of course this just makes the imbalance worse. 

Even during the marathon, I didn't mention it, but I was getting a sore upper back around the half way mark, to the point that I thought about dumping the gatorade bottle I was carrying before it was empty.  I stuck with carrying it and glad I did due to the reduced number of aid stations. 

So the therapist recommended some stretching to the right side to try and loosen it. Also, I should probably try and carry a water bottle on the left more often.  Which gets me to another point. With an upcoming season of winter running, I finally get to try out an insulated bottle I bought a few years ago.  In the past, I get issues with gatorade freezing in my water bottle so I got this a few years ago with the intent of using it during winter training.  I haven't actually done any extended winter training outside in a few years now so I haven't actually had a chance to use it yet.  Technically, it's a chill bottle used for keeping the innards cool during the summer, but an insulated bottle is an insulated bottle. Even if I start with completely hot boiling water, I don't expect it to keep my gatorade from freezing completely on my longer runs, but I'm thinking if it can buy me 20-30 minutes more, it will be worth it. 

Day 8