What They Didn't Tell Me About Minimalist Running

So recently I changed my foot strike from heel strike to mid foot strike. This was in the wake of reading a book that had a powerful impact on me: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It's a truly inspirational book... I would recommend it to anybody. It poses an interesting point: humans have been running without shoes for millions of years, and with injury rates at an all time high and rising, why is it we continue to look to the shoe companies to improve our running?
I instantly became a big believer in barefoot and minimalist running. I went out and bought a pair of Reebok RealFlex shoes, which supposedly simulate barefoot running. I liked the shoes, but they seemed a little too soft, a little too shoe like to be a true member of the naturalistic running shoe clan. So I recently purchased a pair of New Balance 730s, which have a very flat, thin, hard sole and an extremely wide toe box, which both help my running quite a bit. The mid foot striking was feeling good, except for one thing nobody warned me about:
When you land on the middle of your foot, you instantly put all of the stress that was being absorbed by your joints (with a heel strike) into your muscles. 
Okay, maybe they did tell me that. And I agree that long term, this is a good thing... It will save my joints and hips and make my muscles stronger so that I am ultimately a more efficient runner with a longer running lifespan.
What they didn't tell me was there would be growing pains.
My calves have been so sore, I can hardly walk. You want to know how many tiny muscles there are in your lower leg? Go for a 10 mile run, landing with a flat foot the whole time, and you'll know the next morning. All of the itsy bitsy supporting muscles in addition to the gastrocnemeus  and soleus muscles will be absolutely shredded.
I should have known to take a day off after that kind of pain developed... Rule of thumb: if you're so sore that you cannot walk, you definitely shouldn't run. But I did. I ran so far and fast because once I got warmed up, the feeling is incredible. If you stay light on your feet, land in the middle of the foot, you will feel it too. It's like landing on a loaded spring... except it's not a spring, it's your leg.
So I went out, and I ran. Fast and far. And then one day, about two weeks ago... and odd tightness formed in my left Achilles tendon. It exacerbated until I finally took a day off.
I am still nursing this injury... It's doing a lot better. I'm stretching, icing, and on a heavy ibuprofen regimen. I think I'll get through this setback in no time. I expect it to be minor. But the truth stands:
Don't jump into barefoot style running all at once. You will get hurt. 
And if you get hurt, like I did, do what you have to do to fix it. Rest it, ice it, blast it with non-steroidal anti-inflamatories. Do everything you can to make every setback a minor setback.