Devastated

For the last 5 weeks my right knee just hasn't felt normal, it feels week during normal activities and I got a stabbing pain when I would run. I was convinced I would heal with just a bit of time off, so I took a week off and then competed in a the Loveland Lake triathlon. The run is only a 5k so it didn't hurt too bad. The next week I ran 13 miles on a treadmill, it hurt but I was determined to keep up with marathon training. The next week I ran 15 miles but it took me over 3 hours because of all of the stopping and walking. Finally last week I went to the doctor to talk about the pain that wouldn't go away. My general practice doctor thinks it's a torn meniscus and recommended that I see an Orthopedic surgeon. I was able to see an ortho the next day, the guy was an a** and he thinks it may be a deep knee bruise with a *slight* tear in the meniscus. I have been instructed to not do any "loading" activities (aka running) for 4 to 6 weeks and then I can only slowly start back into running IF I have no pain. If I do have pain after 6 weeks of rest then it's surgery time.

I am devastated, so much time off of training, so many planned races missed....it sucks, and honestly I am pretty depressed about it. I can still swim and bike (as long as it doesn't hurt) but I love to run, I am a runner who just also does triathlons. I am tempted to sit around for this time getting fat and feeling sorry for myself, that would be easier to do, but I would rather do something productive during this forced downtime. So my plan is to work on my swim and bike fitness as much as I can and try to get closer to "training weight" so come spring I can get down to "race weight"easily. So in an effort to use this time productively here are my goals:

1. lose 8 to 10 lbs
2. swim, bike, do yoga or lift weights 6 days a week
3. Ice and take vitamins everyday