Hi Greenmama -
The spotting thing could be a number of things.
I tend to have very long cycles as well, so I tend to over analyse everything to look for signs which might tell me what is going to happen when.
From what I have read you can have spotting at three times during your cycle. The most obvious being before AF arrives.
Some people also get an implantation bleed (not gotten a BFP yet so I have no idea what that one looks like as far as how much or how long).
You can also get slight spotting with ovulation as well. I have had that on one of my cycles. I noticed the spotting for two days and I had a temperature jump after I noticed the spotting on the first day. The first day the spotting was a pinkish colour, the second day it had a bit of brown to it, but was still pinkish.
So the spotting you noticed could have been this, especially if you think you are having O pains at the moment. So I would think that you might have started your TWW from when you noticed your spotting. So maybe to a HPT 12-14days after that date.