intense shin tightness (Read 383 times)

Hey folks,

I ran a 5k today. During my warmup my shins (anterior tibialis) were incredibly stiff, more stiff than I had ever experienced after about a half-mile jog. I walked for about five minutes and ran another half mile, which was a little better, I stretched out, and ran back to the start (another half mile) without any problem. 

I started the race about 15 minutes later, ran great for a little over a mile at about at (7:20 pace), and the stiffness returned. It was not really sore or anything, it just felt like my shins were immobile and heavy. If this weren't a race I would have stopped, but I decided to keep going, my second mile sucked horribly, and I had to walk for about 15 seconds while things loosened up. After running a little more things loosened up for the last mile or so of the race, and a finished with an OK time, although not nearly what I was hoping it'd be. I was hovering around an 8:00 pace, much slower than I would have liked, again with no real pain, just really stiff shins.

My question is, first off, is this the start of shin splints or worse. There was no pain now, but is this something that could come? Is there a stretching solution, should I warmup longer? I'm really at a loss here. 

Since there's a wealth of information at Running Ahead, I'd appreciate any feedback you could give me.

Thanks.

A.

ya the last week or so has been more focused on short fast runs, and I have admittedly been neglecting my long runs...

awesome, thanks for the advice