Hi Brent – lots of great advice above for you. I am a long time endurance athlete/triathlete and plan on continuing that lifestyle until they put me away:-). I was training for the half in Atlanta last spring and just couldn’t deal with the painfully slow miles any longer. I had dealt with it for nine years since I twist broke my leg. The tipping point was I wasn’t living the lifestyle I really wanted….couldn’t compete…hard time sleeping so recovery wasn’t good, couldn’t play with my grandkids. Though I was still running 45 miles per week, biking and swimming it was just too painful.
Now 6 months post op, I am back to riding and swimming well….but because I ran on a bad hip so long….I am dealing with imbalances while running. I run 3/4 days per week now pain free 15 to 20 miles….but realize that I am having to do lots of single leg squats and other types of exercises to correct and use the proper muscles.
My suggestion as you try to decide when to have your THR and continue to do repetitive exercises….are you also creating these imbalances and what is the long term effect?
Good luck with it and hope to hear all about your recovery.