My brain runs more than I do!

I spend way too much time googling for answers to random marathon-related questions on the internet.  And when I'm not around the computer my brain spends way too much time thinking about the minutiae of this whole process.  Like...

What if I have to pee on one of my long walks on this new trail and I'm nowhere near the one available restroom?  There's too much brush along the sides of the trail (the parts I've seen so far, at least) to be able to go behind a tree.

Should I be using different shoelaces?  Are there, like, special high-tech runner's shoelaces?

When I'm in Chicago for the marathon, should I even plan to leave the hotel the day before the race to do touristy-type things or should I just really stay in and totally rest?  I don't want to put a damper on the vacation activities for everyone else.

Hat?  Visor?  Sunglasses?  Sweatband?

How much faster than my goal race pace should I be able to do my faster runs/walks?

At what kind of distances should I start worrying about sports drinks or gels or whatnot since so far I haven't needed them up to about 10 miles? 

What if the weather in Chicago that weekend does something weird and it's freakishly cold or hot?  What if it rains?  

Chicago is windy.  Is that going to be a problem?

How often should I test my speed to see if I'm improving?

Is it possible to sleep too much the night before the race? 

Is there a particular approach to doing intervals that works best?  

Is there a particular type of panties that are best for distance running/walking?  I mean, mine seem to be fine but are there special ones?  And if so, are they worth investing in?

Etc, etc, etc...

Some of this stuff I find answers to fairly easily.  A lot of the questions I've googled turn out to have a billion answers that basically boil down to "whatever works best for you," which is frustrating when I don't know what works best. 

And frankly, the most frustrating thing about a lot of my questions is that googling them leads me to boards where elitist runners spout off about how anyone who can't flat out run an entire marathon isn't a real marathoner.  I even came across one discussion where one runner said that walking a marathon took any preparation at all, which is absurd.  If it were that easy to walk the marathon distance in the time allotted without training and without hurting oneself, everyone would be doing it.  And I understand that there a lot more people undertaking marathons these days than there used to be, which lead some "serious" marathon runners to feel like everyone is doing it, but that's just not true.  Nobody in their right mind would even think to attempt to do something like this with no preparation, especially faced with a 6 hour time limit.  In fact, almost everyone I know is surprised that it's even possible to walk fast enough to do it, since 4-5mph is the point at which most people find it difficult to walk and feel forced into a jog or run.  Learning to walk that fast isn't easy.  Hell, there are days when I wonder if I'm going to be ready in time (although those days are usually soon followed by a day when I see significant progress and feel really positive about it).

And the thing is that I understand the point of view.  It's the same thing that drives me to dog on scrapbookers who think that scrapbooking makes them an artist.  But you know what?  What other people do and call art doesn't have anything to do with what I do and call art, just like the fact that I will walk all or most of this marathon doesn't affect those who are able to run the whole thing.  Is someone who can run all 26.2 miles a better runner than me?  Yep.  Does it matter in the end?  Not to me, and it shouldn't matter to them, either.