I got some feedback from both my editor and a couple of you that speaking in the present tense was a bit crazymaking for the reader.
The idea of writing in the present tense came from the first 5K I ever did. I wrote in a blog about it, using the playlist I had created to help me maintain my pace as a sort of outline for the post, and I found that it flowed better when writing as though I was writing about it in real time. However, a story is not a blog post, so I have made another editorial decision to switch to the past tense. Yes, I know the first two chapters haven't been fixed yet, they will be as soon as I can.
See you all on Saturday 6/8, when a little more drama comes into play.