Author: Hip Brother Tom

Happy New Year to all of you Hip Runners!  Set your goals!  Stay optimistic! Keep on running…..

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope 2019 was a great year for all of you.  For me, it was a year to build back some of the speed and strength I lost after my 2018 partial knee replacement.  I am happy to say I am back at it with my first 50K coming up at the end of March.  Training is going well and   I am learning that sometimes it’s not so much about the speed of the workout, but rather about the time on your feet.

Hiprunner/Zero Runner Marathon registration is open…..it’s free!

The third annual Hiprunner/Zero Runner Marathon date has been set.  This race crowns our Hippest Hip Runners for the year.  The marathon is handicapped based on age and when it is over, we will crown our “Hippest” Hip runners for the year.  You can sign up by clicking on the link on the side menu, or go straight to the page from this link.

Keep on training everyone.  Have a safe New Year’s celebration.

Hip Brother Tom

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Hey everyone, over the weekend of 11/1, 2019,  I had the opportunity to go down to Los Angeles and join some of my fellow Gonzaga TFXC alumni to cheer on this year’s team at the West Coast Conference Championships.  It was a lot of fun.  GU’s coach Pat Tyson (he was Steve Prefontaine’s college roommate), is building a powerhouse of a program at Gonzaga.

The GU men and women did exceptionally well.  The men finished 3rd behind BYU and Portland.  BYU is currently ranked 2nd in the nation, and Portland is close behind at 12th.  The Gonzaga men’s team finished just 12 points behind Portland.  No team in the history of GUXC has been this good.  The women made major improvements from last year and finished 4th overall.  It is a testament to the program and how much it has grown.  In the late 80’s I ran at Gonzaga.  After I graduated, I coached there for 4 years.  Little did I know what was in store for me on this trip to watch the championships.  Everyone was in on what was about to happen……except me.  3 of my former athletes that I coached hatched a plan at last year’s WCC XC Championships  in Provo Utah.   I was not able to make that trip.  When this year’s meet was over, the team and all of the alumni gathered around and my former athletes told the story.  Mike Myette and Rob Boulds talked about how last year at this time, they had come up with a plan to create a new scholarship endowment.  Mike would match every donation dollar for dollar until they had raised the minimum amount to create the scholarship ($50,000).  Rob would be the vocal leader who would rally the XC Alumni throughout the year to raise the funds.  Another former runner Pat Hill was in on this along with my fellow teammate Eric Thompson.  Other athletes, like Robert Walgren, who weren’t from my era, played pivotal roles as well.  Throughout the year, they worked and poked and prodded to raise the funds and just before this year’s championships, … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Wow!   Spring was busy.  Between coaching track, working on the Bloomsday board holding down a full time job,  and dealing with a sore hamstring, I had little time to maintain a good running base.  And that is probably why this year’s Bloomsday time was a bit slower than my past ones.  Last year I skipped Bloomsday because it was too soon after my partial knee replacement.  So even though I ran slower,  I was happy to be back out on the course again.   I ended up running the 12k course in 53:38.  That put me at an average of 7:11 minutes per mile over the 7.46 mile course.  I told everyone that I wanted to just break 55 minutes this year, but secretly,  I wanted to beat 53.

The training has been hit and miss for the last few months and boy can I tell!  Just a note of encouragement to all of you hiprunners getting back to running after a long recovery hiatus.  Don’t expect to get it all back at once.  There will be days when you are challenged and you question if you’ll ever get back to where you were.  Those initial days will be your make or break days.  During those days, it is imperative that you S-T-A-Y   O-P-T-I-M-I-S-T-I-C!  In time, you’ll get stronger and eventually, you’ll be chasing those old PR’s again.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

The second annual Hiprunner/Zero Runner® marathon is complete!  Congratulations to 2 time winner Larry Schmidt and first ever female Hiprunner of the year Becky Hainje!  Thanks to all of you who turned out.  If you are thinking about participating next year…..here is a link to the rules that were used for 2019.  I will be posting a sign up link towards the end of this year.

2019 HIP RUNNER MAN OF THE YEAR Larry Schmidt

2019 HIP RUNNER WOMAN OF THE YEAR Becky Hainje

On the men’s side, retaining his crown by a landslide was Hip Runner Larry Schmidt.  Larry is actually double hip with 2 THR’s.  Larry’s age gave him a handicap deduction of 5 seconds per minute spent exercising.  This gave Larry an adjusted marathon time of 2:50 (12 minutes better than last year-WOW!). Larry Schmidt is 2019’s HipRunner Man of the Year.  Way to go Larry. We look forward to seeing if you can go for the Triple Crown in 2020.

On the women’s side newcomer Becky Hainje put in a great performance on her Zero Runner.  Her age also gave her a handicap deduction of 5 seconds per minute spent exercising.  Her adjusted marathon time was 3:12.  Becky Hainje is Hip Runner’s Woman of the year!  She is also the FIRST named Hip Runner Woman of the Year since this is the first year for that category!  Way to go Becky!

We are just days away from the 2nd Annual Zero Runner Marathon. As you can see on the chart above, some runners will use the treadmill, others will run on the road, and some of us will use our ZeroRunners® . This event is handicapped by age, so everyone has a chance. The winner receives a HipRunner “THR Tough” shirt and every participant receives an Octane Fitness™ workout towel. The winner will also be recognized as 2019’s Hip Runner of the year and be recognized in the side menu of this page. I have also modified the handicap system to include a provision for gender. There is still time to sign up and its completely free. All-you-have-to-do-is-run-a-marathon-2-days-from-now. This is where I put in my plug for the Octane Fitness™ ZeroRunner® . The ZeroRunner provides an impact free experience for you to get your runs in. Unlike elliptical machines, this machine is set up with articulating arms to give your legs the full range of a fluid running motion. It is a perfect companion during the recovery period after hip replacement and far beyond. You can find out more about the Zero Runner Marathon and the ZeroRunner by clicking on this link. Good Luck to all of have signed up so far. We will be crowning our winner next week and our current winner Larry Schmidt is back and ready to try to retain his title.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Alright everyone!  We are just 24 days away from the 2nd Annual Hip Runner/Zero Runner marathon.  This race is handicapped, so regardless of your age, you have a shot to become 2019’s Hip Runner of the Year and your mug will be proudly displayed on the sight for the rest of the year! It doesn’t matter how you get your run in, but it was inspired by Octane Fitness’ Zero Runner which allows you to replicate your natural running motion so you use all the same muscles you do outside, but without the harmful impact.  Learn more about the event at this link: http://hiprunner.com/?page_id=8923.

Who is going to be this year’s HipRunner of the year???? There is still time to sign up!  It’s fun and it’s free!… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

On Saturday, I put myself on the starting line for the USATF Cross Country Club Nationals which were held here in Spokane.   Teams from all over the country flew into my hometown to compete.  I wasn’t expecting to place high, but I wanted to represent the SDP (Spokane Distance Project), since it was a local event.   The temp was below freezing hovering in the mid 20’s.  There was no snow on the ground but the ground was frozen so it was going to be fast.    I was hoping to hit each mile of the 10k course averaging just under 7’s.  My hammy which was bothering me all through the month of October and for part of November, was finally healthy.  Still, this was going to be my first real test back from knee surgery.  I had no clue what kind of pace I could hold for a real race.

I couldn’t have been happier.  My gps miles showed as follows:
Mile 1: 6:13, Mile 2: 6:37, Mile 3: 6:29, Mile 4: 6:38, Mile 5: 6:33, Mile 6: 6:38 .4 Mile: 6:29 (6.4 Miles: 40:02).  Nice.  Average Mile Pace 6:31. But wait!  This was a USATF certified 10k course, so my real time was 40:02 over 6.2 miles (not 6.4).  My GPS must have gotten confused by all of the tight turns.  My official mile pace ended up being 6:46/mile.  I’ll take it!  Never mind that I finished waaayyyyyy back in the pack. I…..ran….sub…..7’s.  Even picked off a few runners in the final miles.  The best part is that I am just BEGINNING to get back into racing shape.

I feel like I should schedule a January or February race to keep the fire alive!   Staying optimistic means setting goals.   Hmmm what to do what to do!  Wait!  The Hip Runner/Zero Runner Marathon is coming up on February 9th.  If you haven’t signed up, you should!  It will be motivation for you to train through the winter months.  Find out more by clicking this link.

Lastly, I have to give a big shout out to my running team.  … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hey everyone!

We are just 90 days away from our 2nd annual Zero Runner/Hip Runner Marathon.   This is a handicapped race (age graded), so everyone has a chance to win.  You can learn more about the Zero Runner/Hip Runner marathon here.  So far we have over 20 people signed up!

With the cold weather coming, you might consider looking at the Zero Runner as a training aid.  Believe me, it helped me through my hip and knee replacements.  Choose your method for running the marathon (menu on the right) and be the 2nd Hip Runner to be crowned as the Hip Runner of the year for 2019.  Our first Hip Runner of the Year (for 2018) was Larry Schmidt  (See his picture posted on the right).  Every participant will receive an Octane Fitness towel and the winner of the Hip Runner marathon gets a coveted Hip Runner shirt.  Not a lot but not bad for a free sign up either. :).  You can sign up for the marathon on the menu to the right of this post.  For those of you who’d like to learn more about the Zero Runner by Octane Fitness (and receive a special offer through this site)….click this link.

Stay opimistic and stay Hip!

Hip Bother Tom

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If you’d have asked me in April if I would be running any half marathons this year, I would have flatly said……”It will not be possible”.  It was during those days that I learned that recovery from knee replacements takes far more patience than recovery from hip replacements.   Unlike the hip replacement, the recovery seemed to have considerably more pain tied to it.  It tested my optimistic attitude.  But by August, I started feeling like I might be able to run again.  The process was slow.  My miles were terribly slow.  So slow in fact, I remember stating in a previous post that I was finally able to break 8 minutes for 3 consecutive miles.  As slow as that was (compared to my old running days), that improvement led me to sign up for the Leavenworth Half Marathon.  I knew Hip Brother Dave was going to be there (all the way from Florida) and I had to at least get there to see him race the marathon.

Fast forward to September.  I actually went out on a 14 mile training run (not racing).  Several of those miles were in the 7’s.   I was ready for my first race since my knee replacement.  I was so confident in fact, that I was doing speed work with the SDP Boys.  That was a mistake.  We were doing intervals.  We were on teams.  It was important that I delivered for my team.  Bam.  I felt a slight strain to the quad.  The next day, while I was coaching my little XC team I was protecting the quad so much, that I tweaked my hammy.  Seriously????   The hammy pain was even worse than the quad pain.  Dang!  Less than 2 weeks before the half marathon and I was a gimp.  I texted Hip Brother Dave and let him know the situation.  He said he would understand if I chose to stay home.  Not a chance!  If I wasn’t going to run, I would AT LEAST be there to cheer on Dave.

Saturday 10/6/2018 was race day.  I left Spokane early with a baseball … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

My first race since my partial knee replacement will take place this weekend.   It will be interesting.  Last week, I had a workout with my men’s group and tweaked my quad.  Then the next day I was coaching my XC kids, and while protecting my quad, I tweaked my hammy.  What’s next??????  All I know is Hip Brother Dave is coming all the way from Florida to run the Leavenworth marathon and I plan to meet him there.  I have laid low and stuck to the Zero Runner for the last few days.  It won’t be my fastest half marathon, but I am optimistic.  Stay tuned for pics!

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Hey Hip Runners!

By now all of you have probably noticed the countdown timer on the Hip Runner site.   On 2/09/2019, we will be having our second annual Hip Runner marathon.  Even though it is geared towards those of you with Zero Runners, anyone can take part in the event.  To find out more, go to the Hip Runner marathon page.  What a great way to get ready for 2019!   I hope to see a lot of Hip Runners taking part!

Hip Brother Tom… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

With four and a half months down since my partial knee replacement, I am finally starting to build up real miles.  The Zero Runner has been instrumental in helping me work my way back to this point, but there is just no substitute for running outside.

My doc said I could return to ‘normal’ activity at the 6 month mark.  Since the 6 month mark won’t be until August 20th, I am a bit ahead of schedule with my training.  Even so, running right now is far from comfortable and I find myself getting discouraged periodically.  The hip on my left side seems to be in a battle with the new knee on the right side.  This battle is really messing with my stride and I am unable to get into that ‘zone’ that all of us runners like to escape to.

And the pace…..ohhhh the pace……..sooooooo slow……soooooo frustrating.

Yesterday I decided to run a route that I have been running and see if I could pick it up a bit.  Just a little 3.4 miler to see what I could do.  It was a hot run.  It wasn’t fast by my past standards.  The average pace was 7:52 per mile.  Way off my pace from past years.

But…….

Strava showed that I was ‘trending faster’.  It was the fastest I’d run this year and the first time I had averaged a consistent string of sub 8 minute miles since before the surgery.

It reminded me that I need to practice what I preach.  I always tell everyone to ‘Stay optimistic!’  ‘Believe that it will happen and it will!’  ‘You will run again!’  This site is all about giving you support so that you can achieve your goals.  Now it’s my turn to hear those words and take them to heart.  Based on how I feel right now, I would understand why people might give up running after trying a few times after their hip replacements.  It just doesn’t feel right right now.

I picture this recovery period much like running through a long dark tunnel.  That light at the … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hi everyone.  It’s been a while since I last reported.  The reason was……well…..I had nothing new to report. 🙂  I had my partial knee replacement surgery on February 20th and began the slow recovery process.  It has been a slow process.   I also learned that if I ever had to choose between a knee replacement and a hip replacement…….I would take the hip hands down.  For the first 2 months after my knee surgery, I battled a tingling pain in my calf and constant swelling of the knee.  I am sure it didn’t help that I had to travel a lot for work.  It also didn’t help that the track season started a little over a month after my surgery(I coach at the elementary level).  Oh, and then there was Bloomsday.  I had a lot to do for that as well.  The knee tolerated my constant busy-ness,  but the recovery ended up being slower than I expected.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to run the Bloomsday race this year.  At 2 and 1/2 months, my knee still was not ready for running that distance.  It was my first “miss” in 36 years.  There was a little voice in my head that was telling me to get out there and do it, but my lack of training and my inability to “run races for fun”, made me think better of it.  However, I did get to ride on the back of the media truck ahead of the elite runners.  Staring down the street at 40,000 plus runners was awe-inspiring.  Then, being able to watch the elites battle it out over the 12k course was ridiculously fun. It  was a great experience.

My Zero Runner has been good to me, and I was able to start using it at the 2 month mark.  Because there is zero impact when using the machine, there was no negative effect on my knee.  Starting back to training in the weeks leading up to my 3rd month was still hit and miss.  The lower leg was still a bit swollen so I had … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

After 3 and 1/2 years of tolerating knee pain that was caused by a knee injury I sustained while playing hoops (I first mentioned it in this blog post and then again in this blog post), I finally took care of it.  Last Tuesday I had a partial knee replacement.  For the last year and a half, my running was pretty much limited to my Zero Runner.  Thank God for the Zero Runner.  It maintained my sanity by allowing me to keep my miles up when running outside was becoming less and less of an option.

After the surgery, I felt great.  I felt so great, I thought I was invincible.  In fact, here is a video of me a day after the surgery.  Hey!  This is no problem.

Little did I realize that nerve block can take longer than 24 hours to wear off.   Needless to say, I overdid it.  I pushed my PT exercises a little harder than I should have.  By the end of the day, my wife Colleen had to take me to the ER because my bandages had completely filled up with blood.  Luckily, no stitches were popped and a few days of doing nothing (so hard),  got me to where I am today.  The pain has subsided a bit and I am ready to head back to work tomorrow.

This recovery period, (day 5) has gotten me thinking back to when I was recovering from my hip surgery.  Gone was the excitement of realizing that the old hip pain was gone.  All I could think about was “How long will this recovery take?”  Ugh! Ugh!  Ugh!   I have caught myself in the middle of this self loathing and I’ve smiled.  It’s been 5 days and I am expecting myself to put my cape back on and save the world.  That’s when I look ahead to a year from now.  Imagining myself running a trail race with my running team,  knee pain gone, and nature all around me.  This makes me optimistic and reminds me to keep my head up.  Every … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

The first ever Hiprunner/Zero Runner® marathon is complete!  Thanks to all of you who turned out.  Winning by a landslide was Hip Runner Larry Schmidt.  Larry is actually double hip with 2 THR’s.  Additionally, Larry’s age gave him a handicap deduction of 5 seconds per minute spent exercising, which gave him an adjusted marathon time of 3:02:26.  Larry Schmidt is 2018’s HipRunner of the Year.  His pic and link to his Zero Runner® time will be prominently posted in the side bar for the remainder of the year.  Way to go Larry. We look forward to seeing if you can retain the crown in 2019.

Thanks to everyone who participated in 2018’s HipRunner/Zero Runner Marathon!

 … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Today marks a momentous occasion for the HipRunner Nation! We just signed up our One Thousandth member!  The Crazy Canuck Robert Henri signed up today to help us reach that milestone.  Expect to hear great things from Hip Runner 1000!

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Who is going to own the title of 2018’s Hippest of Hip Runners?  The marathon is only a few days away.  If you haven’t signed up, please consider it.  Everyone will get a towel from Octane Fitness.  Top Female and top Male will receive additional swag from Octane Fitness.  Learn more and sign up here.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

With my upcoming knee surgery, I couldn’t miss out on the fun.  So, I ran my 26.2 today on my Zero Runner today.  It almost seems unfair….running with Zero Impact.  Who is up for the challenge? 🙂  We are 13 days away from the first ever Hip Runner/Zero Runner® Marathon…..

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Hi Everyone!

We are just 17 days away from the first ever HipRunner/ZeroRunner® Marathon.  Every participant will earn an orange Octane Fitness towel.  Top female and top male will get a Hip Runner hat and some more Octane Fitness swag.  Not bad for a free marathon right?  Don’t let the February doldrums bring you down!  We have treadmill runners participating!  We have road runners participating!  We have Zero Runners participating!  It’s going to be fun!  If you don’t have a Zero Runner, you should try to get access to one in your area.  Put in a few hours on it and see if you’re sold!  Sign up for the race  in the right side bar and learn more about the Zero Runner at this link!… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)