Setting Goals and running miles

I have decided again to train for a half marathon! Eeek! I am really excited and started training several weeks ago. My friend and I have been walking 3.5 miles 3-4 times a week since April. We walk on a paved canal trail and look forward to our hour chit chat! We were going to walk/run a famous race in San Francisco called Bay to Breakers but decided it was too far away to want to go to. I started to get the running bug and recently got back in my running shoes. In Aug. I started toying with the idea of training for a half marathon with a couple friends. One race was in Morgan Hill the end of October; the other race mid-November along the coast. The October race was closest and half the cost of the Nov. race. THAT was going to be my race! My old neighbor in Morgan Hill was already registered for it (her 3rd time) so I began searching training plans. That week my walking friend Diane thought she'd put on her roller skates and practice in her driveway, getting ready to skate our trail while I ran. Well, she called me just before I was to pick her up and said she fell. Uh oh. She also thought her leg was broken! Ack! I hurried to her house a few blocks away and helped her to the car and headed for the ER. Yes, she did break her ankle...in 3 places! Three days later she had surgery to place 3 plates. She doesn't recommend roller skating past the age of 50 (she's 58)..... So, there went my walking partner - she is to have no weight-bearing on the leg for 3 mos., will have 2 of the plates removed in 4 mos., and the last removed 5 mos. after that. I felt like I had the endurance to jump into half marathon training so I found a reasonable schedule to follow, and 4 weeks later, I have built up to a 10 mile run so far. Whew! Four weeks to race day and I will top out at 12 miles then a quick taper before the race. I am feeling really good! I enjoy my routes and look forward to a nice COOL race in a month. Temps have still been in the high 80's to 90's here but the 10 degree difference in Morgan Hill is going to feel nice. The course is planned out in the hills so that should be interesting. I don't really have any hills to train on so that will most likely slow my proposed finish time. Ah well. I mostly just want to cross that finish line!