I am a 30 year old former Marine who sat behind a desk to long and got fat. Last year I became interested in running tri to fix that. I saw the xterra series and thought it would be fun so I trained a little in the late summer and did my first sprint distance in september. INSTANTLY HOOKED.
I tried to train during the winter preparing for this season. I figured I would stay with the sprint distance xterras this year. About January, I was diagnosed with a double hernia and had surgery in March. About 4 weeks ago, the doctor cleared me to train. I was excited and overdid my first few weeks instead of base training like I should.
I have been having heel and ankle pain since the first week back. I haven't been to the doctor but all the symptoms match what I have seen on this board regarding Plantar Fasciitas.
I have been doing the stretching recommended in all the medical books. I also stopped running and biking a week ago today to rest. Although it has diminished a lot, the pain is still there if I don't keep the Ibuprofen going. I have continued to swim and do upper body work at the gym.

My first race of the year, thanks to surgery, is on July 12th. My question is simply, do I need to go to the doctor? Can I train lightly with pain reliever if necessary in light of the fact that I am only training for sprint distance? Does it hurt to train on the bike, Swim and Gym if I lay off the run?