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Order of suitability for the athlete doing a sub 2 hour marathon
1: Foam Rolling
2: Ice Baths
3: Compression Clothing

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Sage Rountree tells us about the post workout ice bath helps reduce inflammation and flush waste from muscles.

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What Exactly is Foam Rolling and Why Should I Roll?

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Learn the importance of #foamrolling and the best tips to maximizing your #foamrolling session.

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How Does Compression Clothing Work in Sports?

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Images: http://www.tecbosport.com Article Source: http://www.ehow.com/about_6395408_compression-clothing-work-sports_.html Athletes and fitness enthusiasts use compression clothing because it can prevent injury, improve performance and enhance recovery time. It may also have some psychological benefits for athletes. Compression clothing is tight-fitting athletic clothing that is designed to hug the body and provide support to the muscles.

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Ice baths work on a principle where the athlete submerges their body (usually up to the waist) in a bath of iced water. The benefits are thought to be achieved by the general reduction of metabolism after a strenuous event followed by vasodilation and the removal of waste products to promote recovery once blood flow is increased.
Found in the book: Foundations in sports therapy

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Journal on foam rolling

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We would recommend foam rolling as there is the least risk and it has the most benefits as it allows fibres around the muscles to be more mobile, making normal movement easier which will be beneficial for a sub 2 hour marathon.

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Benefits of Foam Rolling....Even for Healthy Runners - Fleet Feet Sports West Hartford

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Another benefit to regular SMR is the performance capability of your muscles. The more flexible your muscles are within normal range of motion, the more power they will be able to produce. This has to do with elastic energy. The more stretch a muscle gets, the more stored energy it has, the more force it will be able to generate.

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What is the sub 2-hour marathon?

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As was the case with the sub-four-minute mile, it's a symbolic barrier that challenges current conceptions of what's humanly possible. Also like the sub-four mile, it's an easily understood quest that the general public, rather than just hardcore running fans, can take interest in.
What's the current world record in the marathon?
2:02:57, by Dennis Kimetto of Kenya at the Berlin Marathon in September 2014. Here is the progression of the world record and the 10 fastest marathoners and marathon courses in history.
How fast is a sub-two marathon?
Running 1:59:59 for the marathon entails averaging 4:35 per mile for 26.2 miles. Put another way, that's almost eight and a half consecutive 5Ks in 14:13 each.

The current world record was run at an average pace of 4:41 per mile. While running six seconds per mile faster in a race is often achievable for regular runners, it's a huge accomplishment for world-class runners.

Another way of considering a sub-two marathon is to compare it to equivalent times at other common distances. According to the Purdy tables, the most respected race-comparison tool, a 1:59:59 marathon is the equivalent of a 12:20 5K, 25:49 10K, and 57:12 half marathon. The current world records for those distances are 12:37, 26:17, and 58:23, respectively. Those latter marks are roughly in line with the current marathon record. Translation: A sub-two marathon would be a performance far superior to that ever produced in any other endurance event. It's rare for a world record in one event to be much better qualitatively than other contemporary world records. (That said, one of the exceptions is the women's marathon world record of 2:15:25, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003, which remains qualitatively superior to other women's distance records.)
What are the current organized efforts to break the two-hour barrier?
In late 2014, Yannis Pitsiladis, a professor of sports and exercise science at the University of Brighton in Britain, launched his Sub2Hr Project with an initial goal of breaking the barrier within five years. Pitsiladis has struggled to raise the $30 million he estimates he'll need to lead a runner under two hours in his stipulated timeline.

On December 12, 2006, Nike announced its Breaking2 project. Its goal was to have at least one of three top distance runners break two hours in the spring of 2017. See below for more details about Nike's project.

Adidas is also reported to be working on a sub-two project. The last four world record holders-Kimetto, Wilson Kipsang, Patrick Makau, and Haile Gebrselassie -have been sponsored by Adidas.
How will the various projects overcome the current barriers to breaking two hours?
Pitsiladis's project is heavy on science. He has drawn particular attention for suggesting a race could be held below sea level, such as at the Dead Sea, where there's more oxygen in the air. He has also questioned whether current world-class training methods are based more on tradition than principles of exercise physiology.

For its event, run on May 6, 2017, Nike looked at every possible element known to affect marathon performance, including weather, course, pacing, nutrition, and, of course, shoes and other gear. Nike created a shoe with a spring plate in the sole for its sub-2 attempt.

Details about the Adidas project are scant-no timeline has been announced-but the attempt, unlike Nike's, will reportedly be made on a current marathon course. If that's the case, the logical choice would be Berlin, where the last six men's world records have been set. Like Nike, Adidas is counting on innovations in shoe technology to get to sub-2. In February, the company launched its sub-2 shoe at the Tokyo Marathon, where winner and former world record-holder Wilson Kipsang wore it. (Despite lowering the Tokyo event record, Kipsang was nearly 4 minutes off the sub-2 barrier.)
What has been the reaction to these projects?
Running fans have been simultaneously enthusiastic about the pursuit of a huge barrier and critical of some of the aspects of the planned attempts.

In the case of Pitsiladis's project, runners and scientists alike have questioned the underlying premise that sub-two is mostly a matter of the correct application of exercise science. The Nike and Adidas projects have been criticized by some for being more corporate marketing campaigns than genuine athletic competitions.

RELATED: Read all of RW's coverage of the sub-two-hour quest
So Nike's May 2017 event is the only attempt with a known date. Where was it held, and what happened?
The attempt was held on May 6, 2017 at the Formula One oval in Monza, Italy. The three runners making the attempt did about 17.5 laps of a roughly 1.5-mile circuit.

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, the 2016 Olympic marathon champion, came agonizingly close to breaking 2:00. He finished in 2:00:25, or roughly 1 second per mile too slow. Zersenay Tadese, the world record-holder in the half marathon, finished in 2:06:51. Lelisa Desisa, a two-time Boston Marathon winner, finished in 2:14:10.

Although Kipchoge ran more than two and a half minutes faster than anyone else ever has for the marathon, his time won't count as a world record, because the race didn't follow two standard rules of competition. First, pacers entered and exited the course throughout the race. Second, the runners received fluids from a moving person (in this case, on a moped) rather than from a stationary set-up.

An interview with Eliud Kipchoge after his attempt to run 26.2 miles in under two hours.
Were the Nike runners drug tested?
Nike said that an independent body conducted post-race drug testing. Nike did not reveal whether the three sub-2 aspirants were subject to out-of-competition testing in the months leading up to the event. None of the three runners are known to have missed or failed a drug test, and none have been closely associated with known dopers.
In a record-eligible setting, would a shoe with a spring in the sole count for record purposes?
The relevant International Association of Athletics Federations rule, #143.2, states:
Athletes may compete barefoot or with footwear on one or both feet. The purpose of shoes for competition is to give protection and stability to the feet and a firm grip on the ground. Such shoes, however, must not be constructed so as to give an athlete any unfair additional assistance, including by the incorporation of any technology which will give the wearer any unfair advantage. A shoe strap over the instep is permitted. All types of competition shoes must be approved by IAAF.
The key phrase pertaining to a shoe with a spring is "no unfair additional assistance." Adidas's Boost foam, which was in the shoes used to set the current world record, boasts " the highest energy return in the running industry " and has been shown in peer-reviewed studies to boost running economy. Whether Nike's carbon plate would constitutes "unfair additional assistance" while Adidas's Boost foam doesn't could be a source of great debate. Nike has said that the IAAF has cleared its shoe for competition, but the IAAF hasn't yet independently verified that statement.
Will Nike engineer a repeat of the May 2017 Breaking2 attempt?
At this point, Nike has not announced plans for a follow-up.
When is sub-two under record-eligible conditions going to occur?
Most likely not for a long time. Our data-driven report on the barrier, published in 2014, predicted running fans would first get to celebrate the accomplishment in 2075.

As with any record, the faster the marathon mark becomes, the harder it gets to break. Although it might seem that the marathon record has been in free fall in recent years, that's not really the case. It took four years, from 1999 to 2003, for the record to go from the 2:05s to the 2:04s. Getting into the 2:03s took until 2008, a span of five years. And moving into the 2:02s, which has happened only once, and just barely, took until 2014, or six years.

Although a sub-two marathon is often likened to the quest for the first sub-four mile, the analogy is far from perfect. When Roger Bannister ran 3:59.4 for the mile in 1954, that performance wasn't levels of magnitude better than other world records of the time. In contrast, and as noted above, a sub-two marathon would be vastly superior to the current world records for other standard distance races.

Bannister's sub-four provides helpful context in another way. In his landmark record, Bannister passed halfway in 1:59. The half-mile world record at the time was 1:48. Bannister didn't have to come anywhere near a world-class time just to reach the halfway mark on pace. That is not currently the case with a sub-two marathon. Running a half marathon in under an hour is still a world-class performance; Olympic marathon champ Kipchoge's best at the distance is 59:30 on a record-eligible course. Going sub-two would require the current crop of elite marathoners to run close to an all-out performance for the first half of the race, and then do so again for another 13.1 miles.

All that said, Kipchoge's 2:00:25 is likely to alter elites' ideas about what is currently possible. Kipchoge appears capable of running in the low 2:02 range on a record-eligible course such as Berlin.

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One of the biggest topics in elite running in recent years has been the quest to break two hours in the marathon. Here's what you need to know about the chase. Why is the sub-two-hour marathon a big deal? As was the case with the sub-four-minute mile, it's a symbolic barrier that challenges current conceptions of what's humanly possible.

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Compression clothing pros and cons

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Are there benefits or drawbacks to choosing compression clothing over a normal cotton T-shirt?

Now that you've committed to an exercise program, and you are serious about your health and fitness, what about what you wear? Have you given serious thought to whether the workout gear you put on helps or hinders your workout?

You might have seen compression clothing worn by others or heard about them. You know-the full-body extra-tight Lycra-looking tights. These days, compression clothing ranges from calf sleeves to full-body skinsuits-designed not really to show off muscles, but rather to protect them.

Compression clothing has been around for a long time. In fact, CEP, which jumped into the "intelligent sportswear" game in 2007, is part of Medi, a more than 50-year-old medical company that designed the first highly elastic compression stocking to help prevent serious blood clots. The idea was, and still is, that by constricting certain muscles with specially fitted garments, the body would react positively by improving circulation, sending oxygen-rich blood to muscles.

By squeezing and compacting the flesh of your arms, legs, or torso, these garments supposedly increase blood circulation, which helps deliver more oxygen to your muscles while speeding the removal of acids and the other byproducts of physical activity. There are other purported mechanisms of action, all of which supercharge performance while speeding recovery.

Slowly but surely the sports industry has caught on. Couldn't the same thing apply in athletic apparel to boost blood flow to taxed muscle groups, therefore aiding performance, recovery, and even injury prevention?

The Pros of Compression Clothing
Multi-purpose
While compression now uses gradient technology that applies graduated pressure to the right muscles for the right sports, many of these pieces can cross over to other pursuits. Think tall socks as juice for the ankle, Achilles, and calf, but also as a bonus guard against muddy trails, an extra layer against sunburn (many include SPF in the fabric), or a partner in preventing frozen-toe syndrome in skiing and snowboarding. They're also great in cold weather, because they wick away sweat so that your clothing doesn't become wet and they provide warmth while you get going and then cool down.
Good for explosive exercise
If you love high-intensity exercise, or are a sprinter, a basketballer, or a bodybuilder, you'll enjoy compression clothing. Compression gear can be advantageous in situations where an athlete is engaging in explosive movements, like sprinting, leaping and jerking, a 2013 review of more than 30 studies found.
Recovery
Studies measured the effects of compression clothing on individuals after both high intensity training and weight lifting sessions. In many cases the compression clothing was worn for the recovery hours following training, not for just the training itself. Compression clothing noticeably decreased the symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), fatigue and swelling. The heightened blood lactate removal experienced during exercise also reduced overall recovery time.
Injury
The compression clothing craze seemed to spark back in 2001, when NBA star Allen Iverson scored 51 points the first night he wore a long compression sleeve on his right arm. Iverson's doctor had improvised the sleeve to treat Iverson's swollen, bursitis-stricken elbow. Other players quickly adopted the accessory.

When it comes to medical conditions that involve swelling or poor blood flow, compression is still a "mainstay" of treatment and recovery, says Dr. Thomas Wakefield, a professor of vascular surgery with the University of Michigan Health System.

Particularly for lower body blood clotting and venous circulatory issues, Wakefield says compression clothing is helpful either in place of or in addition to blood thinning drugs and other forms of treatment. There's some evidence compression may help control muscle cramps and restless leg syndrome, though Wakefield says its unclear whether compression might be helpful.

The Cons of Compression Clothing
Too tight
Sometimes compression, for all its good muscle-oxygenation intentions, can leave you breathless. The "optimal" pressure points for each garment might not work so optimally with your body type-and clothes designed to help some muscles may just plain hurt others. Compression clothing shouldn't hurt.
Too hot
Running on a summer's day in sub-tropical Brisbane? Sometimes wearing compression components means adding a layer or more material than we want, especially on a hot summer day. While most sports-compression fabric combos, including spandex, polyamide, and nylon, are also designed to wick sweat, they can't do much about the weather.
No good for long distance
The study, published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, rounded up 16 competitive male distance runners. They were fixed with monitors and masks to measure their gait, oxygen intake, and other variables, then set loose on a treadmill, running at three progressively increasing speeds. Compression sleeves were slipped over calves, and the treadmill test was repeated, the New York Times reported.

Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in running efficiency or biomechanics between when the runners wore compression and when they did not. If the sleeves had functioned as expected, the runners would have used less oxygen. Unless you are engaged in explosive exercise, compression clothing doesn't seem to offer you any added benefits.
Placebo
While the research seems to suggest there's some evidence that compression can provide a small performance benefit when it comes to explosive movements: a basketball player leaping repeatedly for a rebound, say, or a soccer player suddenly sprinting a few feet for a loose ball, a 2013 review of the existing research on compression doesn't rule out the possibility that the placebo effect may explain performance gains. (You can't really trick an athlete into thinking she's wearing compression garments if she's not, the authors of that review write.)
The Verdict
There are certainly medical conditions for which compression clothing can be beneficial. And when worn for lengthy periods-a day or more following exercise-compression appears to help with muscle recovery.

But for now, the question of whether compression gear can amp up your athletic performance is still up in the air. What do you think?

Does compression clothing help you in your workout, or aid in your recovery?

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Compression Clothing: The Pros And Cons - AJ's Sports Centre

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Are there benefits or drawbacks to choosing compression clothing over a normal cotton T-shirt? Now that you've committed to an exercise program, and you are serious about your health and fitness, what about what you wear? Have you given serious thought to whether the workout gear you put on helps or hinders your workout?

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Ice baths pros and cons

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There are many differing view points about whether or not ice baths are beneficial to recovering athletes.

To start, let's discuss why an ice bath is typically taken.

The cold temperatures from the bath force blood vessels to constrict, and when the body returns to a normal temperature outside of the bath, the blood flow is increased in such a way that is thought to speed up the healing process after a hard workout.

So, does this mean everyone should take a bath full of freezing ice after every workout?

Here are the pros and cons of the great question: To take, or not to take?

Pro: A larger area of the body can be treated.

Many athletes and normal people use ice packs to treat sore muscles. The benefit of an ice bath is that people are able to ice pack their entire bodies without much effort.

They just sink in and try to enjoy. In essence, the ice bath is the lazy person's ice pack.

Con: It is possible to cause more harm than good.

An overexposure to cold temperatures, especially when you are completely immersed in them, can be dangerous.

If you want to take an ice bath, anything over 10 minutes is a no-go. Also, don't assume the colder the bath is, the more effective it will be. That is completely false.

Jumping straight from a cold bath to a warm shower can also completely erase all potential benefits.

Think about jumping into a hot tub after being in the pool for an hour or vice versa. It's not pleasant.

Pro: The effects can be very beneficial after a tough workout.

Some of the potential effects include the constriction of blood vessels and the flushing of metabolic debris, like lactic acid, from tired muscles.

Ice baths have also been shown to decrease metabolic activity and slow down some of the physiological process that takes place after exercising.

Additionally, ice baths reduce blood flow, which can reduce swelling and the speed of tissue breakdown in the body.

Con: There is not definitive research to support the benefits of an ice bath.

While the claims to an ice bath's benefits are vast, there is no actual proof to back any of them up. Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a sports medicine doctor who coined the term RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), claims:

"About all icing is good for is a placebo effect. There's no evidence that icing speeds healing or makes you stronger; in fact, it makes you weaker so you can't do your next hard workout."

Pro: Many elite athletes swear by the ice bath.

Many celebrities and professional athletes have shared their methods of recovery, which include the ice bath.

Nikki Kimball, a physical therapist and previous USATF "Ultrarunner of the Year," said of her experience:

"I have been running ultramarathons for nearly 10 years without any significant injuries, and I credit my ritual of post-workout ice baths for much of my orthopedic health".

She also shared some of her personal methods for making an ice bath more tolerable:

"Before getting in, I put on a down jacket and a hat and neoprene booties, make myself a cup of hot tea, and collect some entertaining reading material to help the next 15 to 20 minutes pass quickly."

Con: IT'S COLD.

I'm not sure about you, but I actually really enjoy the cold. Living in Tampa puts me at the wrong end of the spectrum, but asking me to jump in a literal ice cold bath is pushing it just a little.

After a workout, all I want to do is veg on the couch and watch Netflix until my body stops aching. Nothing is going to get me in contact with ice, except if I need some for my drinking water.

But, if you are willing to try it, go for it. Just remember, Netflix will always be there for you when you're finished.

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6 Pros And Cons Of The Post-Workout Ice Bath For Athletes

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There are many differing view points about whether or not ice baths are beneficial to recovering athletes. To start, let's discuss why an ice bath is typically taken. The cold temperatures from the bath force blood vessels to constrict, and when the ...

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You are to research the strengths and limitations of ice baths, compression clothing and foam rolling as methods of recovery. Then answer the below questions:
1. Which method would you recommend to an athlete training for the sub 2-hour marathon?
2. Why? Give reasons - support with research.
3. Rank the methods in order of suitability to the athlete (1=the best).