North Maple Rag

I think I've done some serious damage to my knee. I fell a few weeks ago and then I ran a 9 mile race. My knee hurt a lot during the race and even more during the few days after it. Since then, I haven't been running as much, opting instead to do other cardio at the gym. Today, I got on the treadmill and the knee pain started after about five minutes of slow running. It doesn't hurt when I'm on the elliptical machine, the erg, or even the stair climber. It's only when I'm actually running. So here's my question: Do I need to stop running altogether (but keep working out) for a couple of weeks to let it heal?

I suspect the answer's yes and I'm kind of sad. I miss the running. Running's not fun, per se, but there does come a point during long runs when my brain shuts off and my legs, arms and lungs start make adjustments on their own and that's a nice feeling. It's relaxing and satisfying and I miss it. Unfortunately, because of the knee I haven't had that feeling in a while. Instead, I'm constantly thinking about ways to change my stride in order to minimize the pain. Anyway, some of you are far more experienced runners than me. Any advice?

This is unrelated, but you know what else I miss? Sex and the City. I watched most of the last half of the final season with a friend yesterday. I cried. Twice. I laughed. A lot. I screamed during that scene when the mouse crawls into Carrie's hair while she's sleeping. Most of all, I remembered how much I used to look forward to watching it in my DC apartment on Sunday nights with a couple friends and sandwiches from Jetties or take out from the Slovakian diner on the corner. I hear Desperate Housewives is a good Sunday night show, but I just haven't gotten into it. Probably better that way.