Hello. My hip started bothering me in 2013 and gradually got worse, to the point where I couldn’t run at all. I had my THR in September, 2014.
For the first 2 months, I did mostly walking at a fast pace. I gradually mixed in a little bit of running with the walking, letting pain be my guide. At 3 months, I tried a 5K race and even though it was 9 minutes slower than my pre-surgery race times, I was happy that I could run the entire distance without walking. For a few more months after that (3-6 months post-surgery), I was running about 4 or 5 days a week and walking on the other days. After 6 months, I was running almost every day, and started working on speed and distance. I used shoes with maximum cushioning, Skechers and Hoka. I tried to stay on flat, soft surfaces for the first 6 months (the track and dirt roads).
It took about a year to get back to peak performance in the 5K. And another year to build up to the longer distance races.
Of course, everyone is different so your recovery and rebuild won’t be the same as mine. Take it one day at a time and just try to improve from week to week. Know that, from now on, you will be getting better instead of worse.
Good luck to you, and please be sure to post your progress!