For how many mile repeats will my knee hold up?

Bleh. Been nursing an "outside knee injury" for about the the past 3 weeks. Of course any time a joint/bone/ligament/tendon injury lasts this long, it's best to just fully rest immediately and have it recover sooner rather than drag it out and risk further injury. Right. Well I'm pretty stubborn about working through injuries and have managed to not miss a workout the past 2 TNT seasons, so no way am I about to miss anymore than I absolutely have to. Besides, I have reason to stay in shape as a training captain. And "stay in shape" means "get in shape". Plus, more selfishly, I find track workouts as both the most taxing on joints yet also providing the quickest returns in terms of fitness. Not to mention a great competitive juices outlet.

Someone said last year that you always learn something every season of training you go through. I have to agree. My first year I learned, well, how to swim for one, how to ride a "real" bike, and that running post-biking is not like running on fresh legs. My second year I learned how to cycle long distances and incorporate nutrition. Definitely some swimming technique was improved. I learned how to lead rides (the hard way) and I learned the importance of salt balance (the HARD way.) So what's in store for this season?

Flip turns. Yeah, starting to incorporate them in lap swimming. Sort of doing them the "Matt" way, i.e. not correct but more or less works. And working through injury. Here's my strategy so far:

• Icing area for 20 minutes after a workout. I've read it's best to ice immediately after stress to reduce inflammation/pain, but later on icing is less beneficial since it inhibits circulation (necessary for healing.)
• Wearing a compression knee support. Compression in general helps circulation. An added benefit is the support that will prevent me from randomly twisting my knee if I cross my legs or slip.
• Wearing a band below the kneecap while running/cycling. Still trying this out, theoretically prevents unnecessary lateral motion.
• Swimming is good. Increases circulation without stressing, and still gives a workout.

Wow I'm getting old. Anyways, yeah. Much happier injury-free.