It does not seem to me that you have read the thread I directed you to, so I will summarize.
If you are just getting back into riding, you should be focused on building an aerobic base before you do any more intense training. Your goal should be around 2000 miles. Since you are in Florida, I am assuming the century will be flat. Therefore, I would use the century ride as the culmination of your base-building phase. Until you have the 2000 mi, you should not try to ride faster, just longer distances with improving cardiovascular conditioning.
Your equipement priorities should be:
1. Clipless pedals
2. Bike fit with excellent fitter. You will have to ask more experienced cyclists.
3. Bike computer that can measure speed, HR and cadence plus a HR monitor
4. Training book(s). I read Friels Cyclists Bible and Carmichael's The Time Crunched Cyclist
Your training priorities should be:
1. Increasing slow distance that you ride at a low to medium heart rate for you. Start with whatever you can do now and increase total weekly mileage by 10% per week until you are riding 100-150 miles/week (time permitting, you could possibly get away with less)
2. Regularly scheduled light training weeks/training breaks. Maybe every 3-4 weeks, depending on your age.
3. Try to avoid anything hard until the last 3 months of your training- ie avoid hard hills or sprints
4. With around 3 months to go in your training, try to find a beginner or intermediate group to ride with so that you can get used to riding in a mass of people. I would avoid doing this too early because it might encourage you to ride too hard too early.
5. Again, around 3 months out, try to figure out the challenges you might encounter on your century ride (wind, hills, etc) and begin to replicate them in your training plan.
6. Always schedule 1-2 days off the bike per week
7. Do something off bike to work on core strength, upper body strength and hamstring/glute/hip flexibility. For me that's yoga, for some Pilates, for some weights and stretching.
8. Come here and ask questions frequently. You will be blown away by the time people take to answer your questions.
Good luck.
H