Amy -- let's take a look at one critical thing.
1. Have you ever trained for a marathon before this? If yes, then you know what it takes. If no, give yourself a pat on the back for bringing yourself to the training process.
2. Have you ever started a marathon before?
No,right? Well, just getting yourself to the start line puts you literally miles and miles and miles ahead of the majority of the population.
3. Have you ever finished a marathon before?
No, right? Well, guess what, chickie! No matter how much we all plan and train, when it comes right down to it NONE of us knows how we will do on THE day.
I think your objective MUST be to FINISH, regardless of your pace or time. No matter how long it takes you to get to the FINISH line, it will be a PR for you. Give yourself credit for all you have already accomplished and be proud of what you will ultimately accomplish.
The cold, hard reality, Amy, is that many people sustain injuries and have to "settle" for doing something other than what they know is their optimal performance come race day. But giving up entirely is NOT an option.
Unless the doctors tell you that you shouldn't even WALK 26.2 miles, then you must re-orient your mindset that for this, your first Disney Marathon, you are just going to cover those 26.2 miles and love every minute and every mile. Walk it if you must, take pictures with the characters, take pictures of the awesome mile markers, wave to the spectators, look for WISH Scream Team members along the course -- HAVE FUN!!!
As John Bingham said at the Expo last year -- "You're at Disney. You have 7 hours. Why Rush? Enjoy the course and the people."
Okay, I've rambled on long enough. Amy, you ARE a runner. But runners suffer injuries and illnesses and conditions that don't always allow their bodies to perform at optimal level on race day. It doesn't make them any less of a runner. It simply means they are "running" longer.
Hang in there, hon.
You are going to have a fabulous time. And remember, we are doing the same race. There isn't even a chance of you being DLF as long as I am on the course, too.