Asics Magic Speed 3

“Stats: 6’4”, size 13, 200 lbs Story: I ran two marathons (4:13 and 3:45) over the last six months and figured it may be more enjoyable to do some speed work over the summer. I ran my first marathon in the Nimbus 25’s (very comfortable, very slow) and did my second marathon training block entirely in Superblasts (hated them, then loved them). After obsessively combing through this subreddit for weeks, I decided upon the ES3’s due to the positive reviews, price point, and fact Asics doesn’t make Magic Speed 3’s in size 13. From the first time I laced these up, I was hooked. I had a difficult first 10-15 minutes as I had always been a heel striker running 8:00-9:00 miles and these did NOT want to land on the heel. After some negotiations with the shoe, I slowly shifted my landing to more fore/midfoot and was instantly put into direct communion with the running gods. Every step propelled me forward dozens of yards. Women and children gasped as I blazed a 6:30 mile and an eight-mile training run in 1:00:54 - speeds unthinkable prior to my acquisition of these forbidden fruits of forefoot running. I was having more fun running than ever before. However, some calf pain was becoming apparent after a few weeks. I attributed it to tiredness, understandably so as I was utilizing my calves much more than ever before given my prior propensity for heel striking. Tragically, several days ago I felt acute pain in my right achilles during a slow nine mile run (in the Superblasts) that forced me to stop – a visit to my GP resulted in confirmation of an achilles strain and a referral to a PT. So, I am down and out for the time being. I wait patiently, biding my time in anticipation of the day the ES3’s are laced back up and I can get back on the road to inevitably reinjuring myself.”