To DNF or not to DNF...that is the question

I'm no doctor but I have sprained my ankle severely approximately 12 times.  I say don't do the race.  26 days is not enough time for the tendons/ligaments and whatever else is damaged to heal.  Why risk your June "A" race, or your whole season for that matter, for an April race??  I firmly believe the reason I sprained my ankle so many times is that I never properly healed from the first time.  I was playing basketball within 3-4 weeks and I even re-sprained once or twice just walking down the street.  I would continue to let it heal and treat it, but definitely not race in 26 days.  Just my .02 of course, and the ultimate decsion is yours.

btw: I haven't sprained my ankle (knock on wood) in about 10 years, exactly the same time I allowed it to heal properly.

First...listen to all the people telling you to not do the race...recover fully first, especially since your "A" race is a couple months away, which, really is not that far away...

I did have a friend do this on his first tri.  He was able to swim and bike, but his specific injury kept him from running...He was the first out of the water for his Age group...and kicked butt on his bike and it killed him to not be able to finish the race, especially since he probably would have placed in the top 3 of his age group on his first tri.  The funny thing is, there were three of us that trained together for this race.  I was the slowest on the bike, ok on the swim, and pretty good on the run...out of the three of us, I was the only one who finished the entire race.  The other guy, panicked during the swim and never finished. 

Don't do the race.  You said you were a "big dummy" and injured yourself.  Don't compound the mistake by racing when you are injured.  Bad idea.

I don't want to see another thread from you in 27 days saying, "well, I was an even bigger dummy and did this race injured, now it is worse, and I don't know about my A race." 

DNF or relay!

Consider race day a swim/bike brick workout with a snazzy cotton t-shirt thrown in. 

If it were me, I would heal up and do the first race in June.  If you already know you are going to have to DNF, why bother?  I would rather be in great shape for the race I plan to finish.

For what it is worth, I had to DNF a marathon because I slipped on an ice covered bridge and sprained my ankle.  It isn't the end of the world, but if I had been injured beforehand, I would have opted out of the race.  I have also DNS'ed, again not fun, but it was the right and smart thing to do.

ahh but it is knowing when HTFU is appropriate and when healing is....I treat a lot of sports injuries,and cannot remember the last time I put a sprain in a boot.....must be pretty bad!  did you nail medial and anterior ligaments? 

Swimming may be OK, and biking might be OK, but consider the following:

How will your ankle feel if you accidentally kick someone behind you while swimming? 
How will your ankle feel after the short run up the sand to T1?
How will your ankle feel *if* you come off the bike suddenly and unexpectedly? 

Is it worth risking a proper recovery?  You're around a lot more people on race day than you are in practice.  Some of the things we take for granted (like stabbing a foot down to keep from falling over) become more significant when other people's actions affect us. 

Under normal conditions, I would say a DNF is better than a DNS.  But with an injury, I would probably just take the DNS.  For me, just getting up, traveling, packing, etc is not worth just a swim (and maybe a bike?) IMO.

Here is a suggestion that I havn't heard.  Maybe you can call the race and see if you can volunteer?  Watching people race will keep you motivated, you can provide a helpful service, and still be part of the race.  (However, I can see it as a reminder of what your missing, which could be tough!)

I have tweaked many-an-ankle playing basketball and volleyball.  I would let it heal so you can get back out there as soon as you can.  Don't risk reinjury.  I made that mistake a couple times by getting back on the court too early, twisting it again on something minor that I wouldn't have if the ankle was at full strength...

x2

It's only a DNF is you intend to do the whole thing and don't.  I did the Country Music Marathon last year and I saw tons of people with the marathon number peal off at the 1/2 marathon point.  The temptation for me to do the same was great but I had set out to do the full marathon and that's what I was gonna do.  All those people who signed up for the full and took the 1/2 marathon exit DNF'd in my opinion. 

~Mike