Hey, I can swim (almost back ((on my feet))

I return to running either this Sunday 1/29 or Monday 1/30. It has been since New Year's Eve that I last ran and two weeks since I last biked. My knee has been off and on, what I can't believe is that I don't feel GREAT. I would have thought one month off from running would have cleared up any lagging running problems. My hamstrings still feel tight and my knee still has moments of pain. This has been one of the most frustrating things ever. I am sure other injured folks feel this way but I feel like I will never return to running/biking. I know I have been a pain in the butt to live with as well. Poor Beth is so sick of hearing about this.

Here's what I have been doing:

lifting two days a week, including leg workouts and strength work focused on my knee and hips.
Stretching, stretching and more stretching. I am not really sold on this yet, I'm curious to see what happens when I return to running. I almost feel like I am stretched beyond what is normal.

Swimming two days a week, that's right, I've actually been swimming. I am trying to build my way up to one mile of continuous swimming, not very easy I'm learning. Here is the plan I have been following for two weeks, so far so good. Zero to 1650 in 6 weeks (for me 9 b/c I'm not doing this 3 days a week)