Troublesome knees again

Miles: 6.5
Pace: 11:00
Total miles for the day: 7

On Thursday, during my cool-down, I felt a twinge in my right knee. I stopped, let it crack, and continued slowly and without further incident until I was done. The next few days, though, I've felt the twinge again while walking or sitting with my knees bent. I've applied some ice, but this morning I was afraid to run. After warming up with no problem, though, I broke out the knee brace and headed to the trail. It actually wasn't too bad. Last week I mentioned how my body really can handle longer miles, and I thought I had jinxed myself. It went well, though. I had to stop to let the knee crack about a half-mile in, but after that, it was fine. I took it easy, with a nice slow pace. It was a really nice day, so I enjoyed myself and most of the time didn't even think about the knee. I also had prepared my feet with Dr. Scholl's moleskin pads and Body Glide cream, so my feet were very happy as well.
Since it was a little earlier than usual, there weren't as many people out and about, so I saw some more wildlife than I usually do. When I crossed over a bridge, I saw a deer and a heron wading in the river below. It would have been nice if I had a camera.
Anyway, I've been icing both of my knees since I got home. I don't want a repeat of the only season when I "ran" track: taking stats on the sidelines because of bad knees. I'm trying to allow for lots of rest and very gradual mileage build-up. I'm too excited about improving my times and running longer races to be stuck recuperating from a knee injury.