How I got to be doing this

Following the 1994 STP, when I only completed 165 miles, I'd wanted to come back and do it right. Now I had completed all 190-some miles in 1993, but I just don't like to leave a challenge unsuccessful.
Then I had a series of knee surgeries - 1997, 1999, and 2006. It takes me at least a year to recoup from a knee surgery, and really two years to get back my stamina. The 2006 surgery was my unicompartmental Oxford (1/2 knee) replacement (read about it here), which greatly improved my quality of life. In the couple of years leading up to that surgery, I basically was bone on bone. I spent much of my non-cycling time in a knee unloader brace. It helped some, and relieved some of the pain, but I couldn't do something as simple as walk to work, which is only about a mile and a half. Gradually, the knee worsened.
So, I never really had the combination of comfort, stamina and time to consider "re-doing" STP until now.
It had been a really tough fall and winter. My sister died unexpectedly in Texas, then my husband had 3 knee surgeries, including two Oxford knees like mine. He only returned to work this week after 6 months off. Plus, I made two trips to Texas, and continue to try to handle my sister's estate.
So I sat here in February, and wanted to get a positive goal for the year. I decided to register for STP. Then came searching for training plans. I bought a book "Bicycling Magazine's Long Distance Cycling," downloaded a different training plan, and got one from a friend who's done STP in a day for several years in a row. I ended up combining different aspects of them, although I'm mostly using the book.