Need Advice

[newbieinPA]

Hi everyone,

My first tri is coming up (8/29)! My training is supposed to peak starting this weekend and then start scaling back next weekend (8/21). The problem is that I sprained my ankle this past Monday. I skipped my Tuesday and Wednesday workouts and swam Thursday and biked today but did an easier pace as I didn't want to overwork/hurt my ankle.

So my question is, if I take it easy and don't train too much over the next two weeks, will I be okay to compete on 8/29? Or should I just not do this one and lose the registration $$. There's another one 9/19 but I was hoping to do two this season.

If it helps, I'm training for a sprint - I have done all the bike/run distances at some point during my training and I hope to get a 600yd swim in the week before the race. Oh and I'm not really worried about my ankle hurting during the race - I just don't want to make it worse before the race.

Thanks!

[tribogota]

I would definitly NOT do the triathlon if you are feeling pain. NO reason to feel pain, many other triathlons will come along in life.

If you aren't feeling pain, as my coach says always "what's done is done"
as in the last couple of weeks, well they don't really make or break a race!

[txred9876]

Our swim couch always says "the hays already in the barn" no more training can be crammed in between now and the race.

I sure hope your foot feels better but there are some that walk the run part for whatever reason.

Tina

[OakLeaf]

Undertreatment means that “30 to 40 percent of people with simple ankle sprains develop chronic long-term joint pathology,” said one presenter, Tricia Hubbard, the undergraduate athletic training director at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.

“Most research is showing that with any ankle sprain, the ankle should be immediately immobilized to protect the joint and allow the injured ligaments to heal,” Dr. Hubbard said in an interview. “At least a week for the simplest sprain, 10 to 14 days for a moderate sprain and four to six weeks for more severe sprains.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/he...20ankle&st=cse

I can imagine how badly you want to do this race and - if you're anything like me - how hard it is to rest an injury. But as the article states, it's just not worth the risk of long-term damage. Rest, heal, get good PT, there will be other races.

[newbieinPA]

Thanks guys! FWIW, I'm not actually in much pain (my ankle is a just a little tender) - I just don't want to train hard until I'm sure it's better and more stable. It's probably the mildest sprain you can get (no bruising and minimal swelling) but of course, I made the mistake of walking/running/etc on a fractured foot for over a year - so I'm trying to be careful!

I suppose I'll be fine to do it and maybe I will walk the run part. I still haven't run and I'm trying to limit how much I'm on it.

But it's good to know that I might be in good enough shape to finish it.

[deeaimond]

I sprained my ankle so many times when i was younger (in my early and late teens) I never thought too much about and it and would be back on my feet in a day or 2. now i'm only 24 and I have ankle problems. chronic pain and strain. it can also affect other joints in your legs because of the way the ligaments healed. not worth it. if it still feels tender let it rest completely. there is always some other tri ard the corner.

[witeowl]

If you're OK biking and swimming, you could swim, bike and then DNF the run.

That's true. DNF > DNS

Can one walk the run portion of a tri? Because, then, DFL>DNF>DNS.

(Assuming walking doesn't aggravate the injury.)

[OakLeaf]

DFL>DNF>DNS.

(Assuming walking doesn't aggravate the injury.)

DJD trumps all of that. PLEASE don't ignore an injury just because it seems minor.

[witeowl]

DJD trumps all of that. PLEASE don't ignore an injury just because it seems minor.

Who's suggesting she ignore the injury? I agreed that she could consider a DNF if she was capable of the other legs of the tri, and suggested only that she consider walking the running leg if possible. Nothing I've found says that one can't walk on a minor sprain.

If she were really concerned, then I imagine she would see a doctor to be cleared for walking.

[OakLeaf]

Well, I read your ">" symbol as meaning "is better than." Not sure what you meant by it, if not that.

Sure, to an uninjured athlete DFL "is better than" DNF "is better than" DNS. But that's not necessarily the case when there's an injury.

I still maintain that she needs to be seeing a PT both to get the ankle rehabbed properly, and to get appropriate advice on whether or not to do the race.

[newbieinPA]

I've been to the doctor - who told me it was minor and to RICE it for about a week. She said to come back if it was still hurting after a week - so I guess it's been a week and it's time to go back. The swelling was never bad but also hasn't really gotten any better.

I swam 500yds yesterday and b/c of the way you flex your feet, my ankle was a tad tender afterwards (or it was because I was standing on it for awhile). I'm not doing anything this week and will reassess a week from now. Cycling and walking do not hurt at all so I will keep walking my dogs and I might hit the trainer in a few days but for now - swimming is out.

[witeowl]

Well, I read your ">" symbol as meaning "is better than." Not sure what you meant by it, if not that.

Yeah, that is what the symbol meant. That didn't mean that she had to move herself all the way to the left. I figured she'd figure out where she could safely fall. OK, let me add this:

AWI>WIN>AGW>PR>MPF>DFL>DNF>DNS>NET>LAB
(AWI=Avoiding Worsening an Injury, AGW=age group win, MPF=middle pack finish, NET=never ever trains, LB=lazy *** bum)

I mean, we could go at this all day, and we do already agree. Sorry if my encouragement that she could show up and drop out at the run and/or walk the run sounded as if I suggested she race the run at breakneck speed despite her foot falling off at the ankle.

With the recent revelation that swimming is out, I think she falls in the DNS>NET>LAB part.

Edited to add: While out on my run, I kept trying to figure out why you have such a problem with my post, which was really about recognizing achievements relative to one's particular situation. I decided that, perhaps, it would have been nice to have written some sort of disclaimer at the end of my original post. Something like:

(Assuming walking doesn't aggravate the injury.)

Um.... yeah.