First Last Week's Recap...

So this is what happened last week. I bought those knee straps and knee sleeve. I did a couple of short runs on the tread mill in my neighborhood gym. It felt okay. I figured I could get used to it. So on Wednesday I went to the gym anxious to give it a full work out. I got in a few games of full court basketball before I hit the tread mill. Then lifted some weights with Dan. The knee felt fine. I even did some reps on the calf lift machine at 195 lbs. So I got cleaned up and went to work. A few hours of sitting go by before I get up out of my chair. I noticed that my left knee felt stiff. I checked it for swelling and I didn't detect much. As the day went on I noticed that the swelling and stiffness worsened. I grew quite concerned. I didn't remember doing anything unsual at the gym. No hard falls, no trauma, no anything. I decide I should ice it and keep it elevated. I do that for the rest of the day and hope for the best. That evening, I checked my knee before going to bed and I noticed that the knee was more swollen than it was before. Now I start to really worry. The next morning I was disappointed to wake with the knee in the same state. At work, I felt distracted the entire morning. Would I be able to run the marathon? Would I be able to walk to my car?? I didn't want to go so the doctor for fear of him telling me not to run the marathon under any circumstances. After a little talk with Dan, I decide to do the smart thing and have it looked at. So I call my doctor and leave early from work. The doctor checks my knee for any structural damage by bending it and torquing it in different directions. He tells me my ligaments seem fine and that I must have done something to my knee to cause it to start to swell. He tells me I should stay off of it and to take some anti-inflammatory medicine. I told him that I was planning to run the marathon that Sunday. He tells me that ideally I shouldn't and that in the worst case scenario I my cause internal bleeding in my knee, which would be very bad. He said that if I must run I should rest it until then and take it easy on the run. I did just that and fortunately the swelling subsided just in time for...