Author: Dave88011

It’s been a few months since I last posted.  My new hip is doing great!  I’m having almost no issues with it.  My knee opposite the new hip had been giving me problems a few months ago.  It’s not related to the hip, it’s an old soccer injury that has bothered me for decades.  I started doing some strengthening exercises and it’s doing much better now.  I’ve been running an average of 5 miles a day, 6 days a week, mostly on rolling hill dirt roads.  I don’t have to slow down on the downhills anymore…yay!  I had gotten my short tempo runs (2-3 miles) down to a 7-minute pace, but then the heat of summer hit, and I just don’t feel like running very hard right now.  I plan to spend the next month or two just building up my mileage….very gradually!

I’m extremely optimistic about the hip.  Watch out youngsters, I’ve got my mojo back!… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hello all.  It’s been 5 months since my THR.  I’ve gone from counting weeks to counting months.  How time flies!  I’m looking forward to that point when I won’t be thinking about my new hip at all.  In month 5 I started biking in addition to running.  I got out my old mountain bike that I hadn’t used in years because my hip hurt too much to bike.  Aired up the tires and went for a short 6 mile ride on a multi-use asphalt path that I also run and walk on.  It felt great!  Zero pain in the hip.  I followed that up with a couple of 9 mile bike rides the over the next few days.

Unfortunately, my knee on my non-THR side started giving me problems.  I’ve got a history of knee pain from a bad soccer sprain 30 years ago that keeps coming back to haunt me.  It started aching really badly on Feb. 9, which is unfortunate because I wanted to run the Cupids Chase 5K on the 14th.  I took the rest of the week very easy and by the 13th, the knee felt much better so I went ahead and registered for the Cupid’s Chase.  I figured if my knee gave me problems, I would just run slow or even walk.  Well, it turns out both my knee and hip felt pretty good.  I was able to run as fast as my heart and lungs would allow….which after a year and a half of slow running turned out to be an 8 minute average pace.  I was hoping to finish in under 25 minutes and made it in 24:38.  Whoo hoo!

My last good 5K race was almost 5 years ago, just before my hip started giving me problems, and I did that in 2o minutes.  I know I’m older now, but if I can get down to 21 or 22, I’ll be happy.  Heck, I’m already happy to just be able to run without pain!

Next month, I’m going to start increasing the distance and intensity.  I’ve been  running about 3 to … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

[Dec. 13, 11.5 weeks, 5K race on a challenging hilly course, 30:34, 3rd in age group, 8th overall out of 70]  I forgot to post this pic in my previous post, so here it is.

Week 15:  I ran 3 times and walked 3 times, each 4 miles.  For my runs, I usually do a half-mile warm-up followed by 3 miles faster, and a half-mile cool-down.  Sometimes I follow this with some dynamic stretching, but probably not often enough.  I’m continuing to improve on my 3 miler and have it down to 26:02.

My hip is getting good enough that it isn’t slowing me down as much as my cardio fitness.  Before I started having hip problems, a 3 mile run was like a sprint.  It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve been able to run a solid 3 miles without any hip pain.  Due to the pain, most of my running had been at a really slow pace.  In that 1.5 year, my fitness level has really dropped.  I’m glad my hip is now feeling so good, but getting back to where I was before is going to take a lot of work!  I’m looking forward to it…… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

My progress has tapered off, but still getting better every week.

In weeks 9 and 10, I gradually increased my walks to 5 miles.  I also have been doing more elliptical and stationary biking.

In week 11, I started running.  My first run was 3 miles in 33 minutes.  There is still some pain when I use a long stride, so I was running using a very short and low to the ground stride.  I did a second 3-miler a few days later in 32 minutes.

In week 12, my first 3-miler was 29:20, and feeling much better.  Good enough that I decided to do a 5-K race.  The race was on a very hilly course and I was a bit worried about the impact on the downhills, so I was planning to run the uphills, and walk the downhills if there was any pain.  The weather was warmer than I had dressed for, so I was in the parking lot changing from a long sleeve to a short sleeve when the gun went off.  I ran through the parking lot without even thinking about my hip, crossed the start line a minute behind the crowd (thank God for chip timing).  Caught most of the crowd on the first long uphill.  I started the descent at an easy shuffle, but there was zero pain in my hip.  Yay!  I still ran very conservatively though and ended up finishing 8th overall in a field of 70, and a time of 30:37 (the distance was actually 3.2 miles, according to my garmin).

In week 13, I only ran once because my upper thigh was a bit achy and I got worried that I might have pushed it too much in week 12.  The rest of the week was mostly walking.

I’m now in the middle of week 14.  On Christmas morning, I ran hill intervals in my neighborhood.  Running up a steep hill for a minute-30 secs, and walking back down, for one hour.  My leg muscles were a bit achy the next day, and I had some pain in the rear … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hello, all.  I’m in my 8th week following surgery.

In weeks one and two, I was walking 20 to 30 minutes a day, using a walker.  I ditched the walker 10 days after surgery and have walking without it ever since.

By week 3, I was walking 2 miles a day.  At the beginning of week 3, my 2 mile walk was taking 40 minutes.  By the end of the week, I was doing it in 34 minutes.

Week 4, I bumped up my daily walk to 3 miles.  The first 3 mile walk, my glute started getting tight in the last mile, so I slowed down to a stroll, but still finished.  The next day, I walked a bit slower.  Later in the week, I developed a knee ache on the leg opposite my replaced hip.  I’ve had a history of knee problems due to an old soccer injury.

Week 5.  I continued doing my 3 mile walk daily, but at an easy pace due to my knee ache.  By the end of the week, the knee is feeling much better, so I start walking at a more brisk pace.

Week 6.  I’m walking my 3 miles in the 43-45 minute range daily now.  There is zero hip pain.  I tried a little running during one of my daily walks, and the new hip still hurts a bit on impact.  I also am starting to do an elliptical workout a couple of times a week.

Week 7.  I’m still walking 3-3.5 miles a day this week.  I’ve been walking at an average of 14:30 per mile.  When I try to walk faster than this, my glute gets tight.  I again tried a little running during my walk, and was able to run with hardly any pain, so I did a run/walk combo for my Sunday walk.  The workout itself felt pretty good, but my hip was very tight and a bit achy later on.  Still too early to run?

Week 8.  I’m up to 4 miles of brisk walking daily.  On my Sunday walk, I again tried some running.  … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hello.  I just had a total hip replacement on Sept. 24, 2014.  I have a ceramic on plastic, posterior surgery.  I’m not that old, 51.  I’ve been running for over 25 years, and hope to continue for another 25…at least.  I’ve raced all distances from 5K to marathons.

When I asked the doctor if I’d be able to run with the new hip, he said “yes, but it’s not encouraged”.  He would prefer that I walk or bike for fitness.  Why?  Because the plastic liner won’t last as long with running as it would with low-impact activities.  I asked him how long it would last if I ran every day.  He didn’t know!  He just shrugged and guessed five years?

I thought my racing days were over and that I’d be lucky to run once a week.  But after doing a little more research, and reading some of the comments here, I’m encouraged that I will be running more than once a week, and racing again!

 … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)