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Hi All, I can’t begin to tell you how great it is to see this community. It is an inspiration that many of you were able to get back into running. I
[See the full post at: Almost 3 months post op. THR (right hip 1/22/2021)]Hi, i started almost the day after with walking, 38 days after my THR i run Budapest marathon, 5:27😁, not so fast but i did it, today i have run 75 marathons with protheses and still counting, never have had problems with my protheses and last year i reached my goal and become a member of club 100 marathon Sweden.
Best regards Anders/Sweden.Hello Lim and the way I started to run, and I started “shuffling” 47 days postop… Was to pick the hilliest and steepest neighborhood that had grass between the driveways or along the road (yes there are areas of hills in Florida 😉 And I would power hike up the hills and “shuffle glide down the hills” on the grass, good for an 11 – 12 minute mile. Over the next month I simply started shuffling the flats and every so often would shuffle up the hills. Note I am still not yet over 14 miles per week. By day 97 post op, I have brought my 5K time to within one minute of my 5K time 48 hours pre-op THR; at 21:31. My recommendation is to think of yourself as a “new runner“… Power hike, shuffle, jog, run slowly, gently start increasing the stride… never too much at a time and preferably on soft surfaces… it will be a journey 😉
Hello WedgeC!
Thank you so much for your advise. I will try that. We have a steep hill right outside our house also.Yes, I expect it to be a slow, new runner- except even better! The biomechanics of my body is probably better than it ever was.. No more limping on one side after a couple miles. Did you end up switching the types of shoes you ran in? I was a big Newton running person. I did a lot of marathons in them and ran the forefoot running.
Now i walk around in HOKAS. I haven’t run in them in a while. The most I ran pre-op with HOKAS was a 7 miles. The experience was Ok.I did notice many folks on here became faster runners! I think that’s the part i am still trying to wrap my head around! It makes total sense!
L.
Yes I agree your biomechanics could be better; you may KNOW it but also good for a PT to confirm it because as runners, we are fantastic “compensators” to achieve our goals… we may do whatever we need to get across the finish line as fast as possible, even at our own peril 😉
No shoe changes for me (I’m a fan of Hoka and the Clifton iterations) but a conscious effort by me to “run more gently” (that quote isn’t mine but John Morelock or Gary Cantrell?) similar to the Chi method: forefoot, lighter quicker steps, less impact…So more like a barefooter… still in Hoka’s as I believe we need more cushion as we age… at least up to a point and not at the sacrifice of foot stability.
Which leads to your last question on running faster… faster is relative… if you were a cross country runner in college and ran a 240 marathon a couple years after graduation, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that at age 55 following a hip replacement that you will ever get back to that place. But if you had a four hour marathon PR at age 40 with years of hip pain and a hip replacement at age 50, a year of healthy running on your new hip could certainly lead to a new PR. I turn 50 next month…
As of this morning, I don’t see myself running a sub three hour marathon nor sub 24 hours at Western states, nor sub 18 minutes at 5K… That could change, but you see what I am aspiring to be able to get close to…Oh my goodness. Completely agree regarding the fantastic compensators. I was really surprised I made it this far! I’m trying to “correct” the bad habit. Yes – I am familiar with the forefoot running. I started my running career as your average running pace – 10:00- 11:00 min. I may have touched <10 for long distance once after a lot of training. I am ok not going back to that and not the long distance. I did my fastest mile at 703, i think I’m OK with not ever going back to that. I am 45 and going back to just running is perfectly fine. I definitely don’t see myself doing another marathon or training for an ironman. Too much time at least for today. Thank you for the suggestions. I will give it a try in the next month. My PT says I need more work on my core and fix my overall compensation. I did a lot of that to the point, my left side is SO weak!
We are all different.
I am 6 months post op and today was the first day I could run a few steps without it feeling too weird. I tried a month ago, and the foot on my operated leg wanted to pigeon toe in and my entire thigh hurt for a day. And that was after only about a dozen steps.
I decided to wait a month and try again. Today I tried the same dozen steps, and my thigh muscles feel OK tonight.
It seems to me–and this is just my observation, nothing scientific–that people who have anterior surgery can return to running sooner than those who had posterior. I had posterior.
–Hoppie
Everyone is different based on what you did prior to surgery. If you were active and strong going into surgery your recovery may be quicker. I started walking the day of surgery and worked my way up to eight miles by four months. I then started a slow progression of jogging 10 steps several times during my walks and building to 100 steps x 10 by six months, always being aware of soreness the next day. At six months I started slow runs of 3 miles using a run/walk technique of 5/1 minute run/walk. I also started a strength and mobility program that required allot of one leg balancing. I had posterior THR so my hip flexor seems to be the last muscle to recover, but with the exercises it gets stronger every week. This past Monday I was able to run a hilly 15 miler 9 months post op with no after pain using my 5/1 minute intervals.
As for shoes…..so many great ones to choose from these days. I am a longtime Nike shoe guy and alternate between the zoom tempo for long runs, the infinity for short to medium runs and 4% for faster tempo runs. I like the energy return in these shoes that others just don’t seem to provide…..all personal choices so go to a good local running store and try them all on until you are satisfied. Plus there are great shoe reviewers on YouTube. My favorite is Seth DeMoor or Ed Bud.
It is always good to focus on form as we get off balanced compensating prior to surgery. I found the book “The Lost Art of Running” very informative when it comes to good running techniques and the why….plus it has great stories…ez read!
I am also a triathlete so I swim twice per week and bike at least three times per week. I use the TrainerRoad platform for biking. The biking provides harder interval workouts that translate very well into running so that I don’t have to do the pounding of going to a running track to make me faster.
Enjoy your return……I hope this helps you get there!
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