Sprinting

Hi Casper, I’m 55 and a double hippy, first one 20 months ago had the last one done 9 months ago. Personally I won’t be attempting 60’s 100’s or 200’s due to the huge impacts especially the shorter distances. I am going to try 400’s next summer. 4 years ago I did 63 sec 400’s but I will be lucky to get within 10 secs of those times ever again, just can’t justify the risks of doing the sort of training needed. I’m pain free after 5 years of pain and like running too much, so it’s going to be slower running but longer distances for me. Good luck with your op, keep us posted on your recovery.

Hi Casper – I am 4 months post op….same surgery you are having. I also wasn’t able to run pre-op but did bike 150 to 200 miles per week. I am back to biking 100 miles per week and started running 3 miles zone 1 heart rate most days trying to land mid foot to reduce impact. Yesterday I did a 8 x 1 minute tempo run at 10k pace. The limiting factor right now is flexibility in my repaired hip. During surgery they cut the Piriformis and reattach it. I am working to regain flexibility in it with stretching and squats but believe it may take 6 to 12 months to regain full mobility…..each week it is feeling better. I think you will be able to run fast again, but you will have to work it back to full flexibility…..don’t try to push it and let your hip dictate your progress.

Good luck

Good Luck Casper. [I am 60 years old and male] I have had a similar new fit recently – my surgeon recommended cross-link polyethylene. Right hip (worst) 11 months ago and the left one 2 days before the last lockdown in March. I was a lifelong runner (ex military) and I guess that, at 95kg, I probably accelerated natural wear. My main pre-op issue was a severe degradation in flexibility to the extent that I could barely put a sock on. As far as post-op my first road cycle was at 10 weeks but I hit 100 km/week by 12 weeks and have done 2.5 hours in the saddle and had some ‘confidence checks’ in the form of 3 lowish-speed falls, 2 down to poor personal cleat drills and one a bit of selfish driving forcing me off the road – all joints intact!
I walked a lot as a base plus swimming and mobility exercises concentrating on my core and mobility then stepping up to squats, lunges, star jumps and burpees and am really noticing the positive effects of the squat-based exercises – I started squats steadily at 8 weeks using TRX and similar for confidence/support. I have not started running just yet – my physio suggested 9 months as a target with a guide being standing from a seated position using only one leg! I could probably start now but I feel that building further strength and mobility is an important precursor.
I guess that my big lessons were listening to my body when I was overdoing it and, first time round, equating an early move to single stick walking as a sign of progress when all I ended up doing was limping badly. 2nd time round I ditched sticks as soon as I could (10 days) for walking poles which I found far better. Good Luck

I’ve had both hips replaced in my mid and late 30’s. I’m 48 now and definitely still do treadmill and outdoor sprint intervals and uphill sprint intervals and burpees and box jumps and everything else without any difficulty or decreased range of motion. Definitely wait until the 3 months post recovery period is over before you do anything high impact. I just limit my runs to 2 days per week and no more than 4-4.5 miles at a time

Hi Casper, we’re all different so I suggest trying different styles and distances and see what feels comfortable. If it’s anything like me it may change over time. I started off doing mainly 5K’s and 10K’s and got down tot he low 19’s, and my first ever marathon was 3 hours 19 minutes but my hip felt terrible afterwards and led to a one year layoff with not being able to run more than a mile or so. I got back into half’s and 5K’s but over time the 5K’s hurt more than anything else, but I did break sub 19. Then in 2015 I read a couple of books about ultra marathons and decided I had to try one. Too my surprise I was good, very good at them, and they didn’t hurt my hip at all. I’ve gone on to run sub 20 hour 100 miles and won about a dozen ultras. I very rarely do any speed work in training and just leave it for actual races. I switched to a keto lifestyle to minimize inflammation and I think it’s helped me. Listen to your body and you’ll find your sweet spot. Hope that helps, Dave.

Your hip will be your guide Casper. Don’t expect to be doing full speed sprints for a while at least. Your hip will get used to your activity. Just be sure to give it a rest when it tells you to. This is especially important during the first year of recovery. I felt like I could really start pushing it at 18 months. In the grand scheme of things, that is just a small time investment to get back to what you want to do. Stay positive! Stay optimistic!