4 miles back on track

So the knee pain has been concerning me. It was pretty bad Sunday and Monday. Today it felt quite a bit better and I only really noticed it when I was going down stairs. The weather has been warm but very windy. I was able to get out in shorts for the first time and that is really exciting. I saw a few people out running and so that always helps push. There was a guy about 1/3 of a mile ahead of me and wanted to try to pace him a little to see if my pace was similar when I ran to his. At the top of the 1st mile I was a couple of blocks behind him. By the 22nd St. turn I was only a block away...but our paths changed. The wind was pretty solid the whole run. I think the gusts were in the mid twenties and I find that when I run into the wind I push harder because I feel like I am going a lot slower. This always seems to help me get decent times when I am running. I also passed what I imagine was a group of girls from the track team. There were like 10 of them. They didn't really seem to want to acknowledge me so I just kept on my way. By mile three I had found the guy that I was behind....I was about two blocks away....but I also ran 4 more blocks up and down so my pace is probably similar. I pushed hard the last 5 minutes and was really pleased with my time of 35 minutes and 42 seconds. It is better than a 9 min mile so maybe I am getting back on track. The knee has not been giving me problems and I am happy about that. Have 8 miles tomorrow....should be good times....