Sprained Ankle - Tri in 4 weeks

my advice is to wait a while before racing.

my experience: i twisted my ankle pretty badly getting off an airplane about 12 days before a 1/2 marathon that i was really excited about.  i spend the next couple days walking/hobbling around Seattle (very hilly) before i took a very very long taper and just rested a lot before the race.

i ran an excellent race with no pain during the event, but the results still linger.  after i finished the run, my knee pretty much siezed up. i've battled ITB ever since that day (Sept 17, 2006). i believe that my limping on the bad ankle caused me to favor one foot/leg/hip which led to a tiny imbalance during my half marathon which (over the course of thousands of strides) was enough to irritate the hell out of my knee to this day.

i say, get 100% better before you risk getting worse.

~B

I sprained an ankle last season--so bad I couldn't even put any weight on it for four days.  So, if you were already trying to run the next day, you are SO ahead of the power curve!

Anyway, I didn't try to take a running step for 7 weeks.  7 weeks happened to coincide with this Oly I had already signed up for.  So, my first run was the 10k portion of that Oly.  I just had the medical tent tape it up SOLID before the race!  I still remember the conversation with the guy:

Him: "How long ago did you sprain this?" (as he is jiggling my ankle around checking it out)
Me: "Seven weeks.  Am I going to die?"
Him: "No, you're not going to die, but it's going to hurt."
Me: "Ok, thanks."

If you had a decent run base going in, just do lots and lots of swim/bike and your run will be fine.

I've had knee issues for years and my running has always been limited.  So I do a LOT more swim/bike and while I'm no cheetah, my run times (in races) aren't hideous.  I attribute it to keeping up the aerobic fitness on the bike and swim.

Aside from the obvious platitudes about seeing a doctor (blah, blah, I know, I don't do it either and race with all kinds of injuries/illnesses) ...

***WATER RUNNING***

The best thing to do is get a water running belt (cheap getup for about $50, but try for used, see if a friend or even BTer has one, etc.), get in water deep enough so your feet are off the ground, and run away.  It's boring but a near-perfect substitute.

You can also do a treading-water-run-motion without a belt--not as effective, but still great.

You can even run hip/waist/chest deep through shallow water--less great yet--but still a lot less pressure on the joints. 

Good luck! 

Get some PT it will help.

When I did similar thing I asked about aqua jogging my coach said no just focus on swim/biking as it is to different and not that helpful to real running.

Good luck..hope you heal fast! 

Wow, that's odd -- I have heard "water running" repeatedly as THE substitute for land running, including from greats like Jeff Galloway and Hal Higdon.

KathyG, maybe not for your specific circumstances or whatnot.  You're usually dead-on with your posts and I have great respect for your training and generosity here on BT.

Just my personal experience is that I missed one month and three months of training, respectively, on two different marathons, did water running, and PRed on both.

brownlab, here's an article from Runner's World you may want to check out:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/printer/1,7124,s6-238-263-266-5536-0,00.html

Best of luck with healing!

A similar thing happened to me a few weeks ago.  I rolled my ankle pretty bad during a 10K Trail Run.  I was hobbling for two days and then I could walk without pain.  It was two weeks out from my 1st Tri.

My doctor friend who also does tris told me above all else "take care of it" which meant...

• Stay off it as much as possible and keep it elevated
• Wear sneakers (I looked goofy at work)
• If swollen, ice it

I continued to swim and bike a little bit leading up to the event and I did one run.  I was fine and had no problems.  I think you have plenty of time for it to heal, just don't push it.  You might feel like you are being lazy by not running but it is for the best.

Good luck.

Thank you everyone......I so wanted to go out a do a few miles today but forced myself to ride instead. (it doesn't hurt on the bike, but when I walk I still have pain going up the outside of my leg).  I'm doing my RICE therapy, but I can almost imagine my running muscles turning to mush - and running is my strongest sport! 

 I'll start aqua jogging next week to see if it helps, I figure it won't hurt.....it might help me mentally too.

Doctor said it's going to take a few weeks, I guess I'll have to wait and just run the 5k without the build up.