The Hyperspeed has landed !!!

After 2 somewhat agonizing weeks has passed, I finally got hold of the latest weapon in my ever-growing arsenal, my race shoes : Asics Gel Hyperspeed 3. This shoes is my first Asics shoes, ordered from Pro Direct Running in the UK, as I've never seen it in any store in Malaysia. Plus, Asics shoes are very expensive in Malaysia, even the simple basic models would cost upwards of RM300. So to get this very light racing shoes, with a free running tee, & a Livestrong gymsack, for less than RM300 (plus shipping) is indeed a bargain.

The journey

I'd been calling Poslaju for the past few days to check on the shoes. It was delivered on 17/9 using Royal Mail. The system is such that, once it gets to Malaysia, it'll be passed to the local courier service, in this case the Poslaju, to be delivered to its final destination. I was really worried as the PDR had omitted "Bandar Saujana Putra" from my address. But PDR told me to check with the local courier service once it gets to Malaysia. I was told my Poslaju that the package will take 10 working days to get to Malaysia, & a further 3-4 days to get to me.

But when I called Poslaju again this morning, they told me to call Pos KLIA. So I did & they told me that the package has arrived at Pos KLIA on the 23/9 !! What the ... ? & it had been given a new, local tracking number, which explained why the system couldn't track that my package has arrived. So with that local tracking number I was able to track it down to Poslaju Puchong. I took off on my bike to collect it as soon as I was released by my boss. & there it was, sitting on the office counter since Monday.

This would never have happened if I placed an order in the US. The Running Warehouse insisted that all overseas package be sent using courier service like DHL or FedEx. My javelin spikes was shipped to me in 5 working days, using FedEx, right to my doorstep. Expensive, much more expensive than RoyalMail, but at least U won't be given the runaround & U dun risk losing a precious cargo.

Asics Gel Hyperspeed 3

I've been looking for a replacement for my Adizero Ace, after it was pretty clear that the shoe won't last another half marathon. It just got worn out so quickly, less than 250km. In fact, I had just about 207km with that shoe. I used it for my 1st two half marathons this year, & all the other short distance races less than 15km. But after Energizer Half it was already showing very visible signs of wear. I dun even use it for training.

So after browsing around, I decided to try Asics. It was reasonably priced, light enuff, has good support system and although it was last year's model, it was only recently replaced by Hyperspeed 4. & I've decided to try purchasing from PDR, since the shipping was much, much more cheaper than US, plus I dun really need it urgently.
The shoes are really low profile, lower than Adizero, with only 10mm forefoot thickness. The Adizero was 12mm I think. The Hyperspeed is 10mm/17mm.

The cushioning system is Asics' trademark Gel Cushioning. The Discovery channel recently had a feature on Asics Gel system in its "How Do They Do It" program. In that program, Asics demonstrated how advanced & hi-tech the Gel cushioning was. They dropped an egg, from a height of 6 meters, right onto the Gel which was placed on the floor. & the egg didn't break. Amazing. I hope it can protect my feet as effective as it had protected the egg.

Even with Asics reputation of being a running shoe with the best cushioning shoes, only a few well-known marathon runner uses Asics. Maybe the most famous one would be Ryan Hall, the American who got 4th in the Beijing Olympics & 5th at 2009 London Marathon (won by Sammy Wanjiru). Asics also have a few world-leading athletes under their sponsorship, like Lolo Jones (100m hurdle) & of course Andreas Thorkhildsen, the world javelin champion. Maybe Asics is still working on the commercial side of their products. Japanese companies tend to let their products do the talking, like Asics & Mizuno. If only they have the marketing prowess of Nike, they'd be one of the giants by now.


The sole pattern is also pretty interesting. Looks like it's gonna last longer than the Adizeros. Hopefully, as I've no intention to buy new racing shoes once every six months. This shoe is marketed as racing shoes for distances up to 10K, or even half marathon for lighter & efficient runner. Well, I'm no lightweight, but I can work on being an efficient runner. I'ma use this in my sub-hour attempt at the Nike 10K on the 10/10. If everything is okay, then I might also use it for Penang Bridge.

I really look forward to trying this shoes, possibly in my planned 10K training this afternoon. But it's raining outside, & I've no intention of giving this shoes its first wet test. Maybe it's gonna have to wait until Sunday, or maybe tomorrow morning.

Here are the other things that I received in the package today:




doRunning is PDR's house brand. But their running tee is pretty thick although light. Not as light as the Nikes or Adidas. & of course I have got to get them Livestrong gymsack, a very, very rare item that U can never, ever get in Malaysia.

Can't wait to see what the Hyperspeed can do..!!!

Livestrong.