• Home
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Staff
    • My Running Story
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • What We Treat
    • Running Injuries
    • Sciatica, Back, & Neck Pain
    • Chronic Pain
    • Shoulder/Elbow Pain
    • Hip/Knee Pain
    • Ankle/Foot Pain
    • Balance/Vestibular
  • Specialities
    • Traditional Manual Therapy
    • Non-Traditional Manual Therapy
    • Running Services
    • Correct Toes
    • Kinesio Taping
    • OOV Services
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Free Guides
    • Events
    • Videos
    • Running Portal
  • Patient Info
    • Forms
    • FAQs
    • For Your Doctor
  • Contact Us
  • Reviews
    • Read Reviews
    • Rate Us!
  • COVID-19

The Manual Touch Physical Therapy

Whole Body Approach

Reclaim movement, function and life
For information, call: 847-541-7600
or email: info@themanualtouch.com
  • The Manual Touch Linkedin
  • The Manual Touch YouTube
  • The Manual Touch Twitter
  • The Manual Touch Facebook

Shut Up and Dance

January 5, 2016 By Denise Schwartz 1 Comment

denise_marathon_finish_crop

Well it’s that time of year again — to review what’s happened in the past year and set goals and resolutions for the new-year. This past year I finally met one of my longtime goals; I completed a marathon in Milwaukee, WI. As I’ve found with other big life events, this marathon came with the sensory memory of a song, “Shut Up and Dance”.

It took 5 years of running and 5 half marathons before the thought of completing my first marathon began to percolate. By 2013, I was mentally ready for the marathon, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be as injury derailed my plan. After working hard the next 2 years, to get stronger and a more efficient running form, 2015 would be the year of my marathon.

I started the racing year off last February by leaving the dark, cold, winter of Chicago to race under the bright, sunny skies of 70 degrees at the Gasparilla half marathon in Tampa, FL, where my daughter goes to school and a fabulous medal in the shape of a large pirate head, great Columbian food, and my daughter, my mother, and my mother in law waiting for me at the finish line.

In the beginning of May, I ran the Capital City half marathon in Columbus, Ohio, with my friend Sheryl pacing me to a PR (personal record) of 2 hours and 21 min. The joy of PR’ing was unfortunately marred with mild heel pain/plantar fasciitis.

I took the next 3 weeks off from training and then hired Coach Jamie Dodge of Runners Connect to get me safely to the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on October 4. For the next 6 weeks Coach Jamie’s plan guided me through challenging cross training workouts which included elliptical, swimming, aquajogging, and biking until I was ready to begin a run/walk program in early July. In addition, I persevered through personal setbacks as well, including my husband losing his job, preparing my son to go off to college leaving my husband and I empty nesters, and developing a non-life threatening allergic condition requiring multiple medications (I haven’t taken medications for the past 15 years).

The morning of the Milwaukee marathon began in the dark at 5:30 am. We caught a shuttle bus in downtown Milwaukee that took us 26+ miles north to Grafton high school where we got to hang out inside until 5 min before the start time of 7:30 am. At 7:30 am, my friend Sheryl and her 2 daughters, along with 3500 other people and I began the marathon in perfect race conditions of overcast skies and 52 degrees, which remained constant throughout the race. I adopted an 11 minute run (approximately 1 mile) to a 3 minute walk pace and looked forward to meeting my family at mile 14 and my close friends at mile 19 who all came to cheer me on.

Since this was a small race we had limited entertainment, except at mile 8 where a college band played, “Shut up and Dance”, a song that I intended to download prior to the race but had forgotten. The song made me smile and dance a little as I realized I’m finally running a marathon and would complete it.

momanddrew_crop

The highlight of my race was when my son, Drew, jumped in and ran with me at mile 14, mile 17, and miles 21-25.5 running at my pace, much slower than his usual 6 min pace.   He showed up with his smiling face, abundant joy, music “Shut up and Dance” blaring from his phone, salted watermelon and lots of encouragement to keep me going as I completed the race in 5 hours 24 minutes.

Now when people ask me, “how did it go”, I say, “IT WAS SO MUCH FUN”. The whole experience of running with thousands of other people with the same goal of finishing a marathon, being encouraged along the way by spectators and other runners, encouraging other runners to keep persevering and then upon finishing, sharing our experiences while recouping with food and drink, brings people together in a shared sense of commitment, a feeling that even if only momentarily as I reveled in my own accomplishment, the world was an OK place.

Completing and training for a marathon takes commitment, discipline, patience, perseverance, sacrifice, dedication and lots of preparation, both mental and physical. It takes support and understanding from family and friends. It takes a community of runners and coaching from experts. I realized that by applying these principles to completing my marathon goal, the journey towards the marathon and the marathon itself became pleasurable and manageable despite the numerous obstacles I had to overcome. These principles can be used to meet any goal I choose to meet in the future. I know not everyone can or wants to run a marathon, but with commitment to these principles you too can achieve your goals with ease and joy.

In this coming year of 2016, my wish for you:

  • to find the commitment and dedication you need to have a healthy year!
  • to have the patience and perseverance to get through the journey to a long awaited goal!
  • to have the love and support of your family, friends and community!
  • to find the right teachers, coaches, mentors to guide you through the coming year!
  • to, “Shut Up and Dance” in order to make your dreams and goals a reality!

My goal this year is to provide physical therapy to as many patients as I can, provide physical therapy education to the community, and in April run the Illinois half marathon in Champaign, IL.  As for the marathon, I’m not sure if I will run one this fall but definitely have a future ultimate marathon goal, The Big Sur Marathon which runs on Pacific Coast Hwy in beautiful Big Sur.

 

For your inspiration:

 

Filed Under: Denise's column, Running, Triathlon Tagged With: exercise, Fitness, foot pain, Health, hip pain, knee pain, Low back pain, manual therapy, Marathons, physical therapy, plantar fascitis, running, running analysis, running clinic, running injuries, The Manual touch pt, Training, triathlon

Comments

  1. Des Plaines Guy says

    July 28, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    Congratulations on your first marathon run. Here’s to many more!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Health Tips

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required
I'm also interested in receiving:

Search Other Blogs

Recent Blog Posts

  • What Does Your Big Toe Have To Do With Painting?
  • Frogs: A Symbol of Transformation
  • Meet Our Social Media Manager, Rachel

Blog Post Topics

Testimonials

Judy has been living with Rheumatoid arthritis for the past 30+ years and typically uses a wheelchair around her house and a cane or walker outside. “I seem to be in less pain, can stand longer.  I also am walking somewhat straighter and further.”
Read More
I came in to see Denise due to a cervical disc herniation.  I have been told by Illinois Bone & Joint that they refer patients to Denise often as she is able to help when other physical therapy programs fail.  That was definitely the case in my situation. I had 6 weeks of PT at another location but still was unable to turn my head fully or work at a desk without terrible pain.  After seeing Denise and following her exercise program, I was almost back to normal within a few short months.  I… Read more
Read More
Denise, owner of The Manual Touch, has been amazing for me and my family. I first began seeing Denise when I herniated my back and did not want surgery. Personal attention, caring and patient are only a few words to describe Denise. She uses a mix of traditional PT with a complete understanding of how your body works to get you back on your feet. She is amazing.”  
Read More
I had constant neck pain from a car accident 2 years ago.  I went through PT somewhere else without any good results.  I then was recommended to come to The Manual Touch PT. At my first appointment I could tell that Denise was able to get right to the point of my problems.  After numerous therapy sessions I felt such a relief of my constant pain.  It is better now, I can sleep better and use less pain medication.  My goal is to avoid surgery and I feel hopeful that will be possible.
Read More
I’m a pediatric physical therapist and I was taking a yoga teacher training.  My left shoulder and neck were getting progressively tighter and eventually pain was keeping me up at night.  I knew I wanted treatment from a very knowledgeable PT with good manual skills and someone who excelled at evaluating postural and functional issues.  Denise is that person and she corrected my biomechanics with exercises and manual therapy.  There are only a few PT’s that possess skills like Denise.  … Read more
Read More
I’ve been to several other PT’s but have never had as effective and long-lasting results as I experienced through Denise. While training for a 70.3 Ironman this year, I developed some debilitating hip and leg pains that made me question whether I would be able to race.  Denise quickly identified the problems and treated me over several sessions, which included going over exercises until I really understood what to do. Her patient, intuitive and knowledgeable style made a huge difference in … Read more
Read More
Denise is a great physical therapist. She helped to heal a back injury that had been bothering me for years. The exercises were simple and effective. It was also great to have an app and videos for reference. I definitely recommend Manual Touch.”  
Read More
Due to a stroke of good luck, I saw a class on Lower Back Pain offered by Denise from The Manual Touch Physical Therapy at Northbrook YMCA. I followed up with an assessment by Denise. Three years ago, I fell and broke my right arm and hip, followed by months of physical therapy. I still have “ issues” with my neck, back, hip and knee….which Denise has explained are all related. She is a “ new set of eyes” on an old problem, and has helped me immensely. I have learned new exercises for… Read more
Read More
As my fibro symptoms flare, my reliance on IMT and other forms of manual therapy Denise uses is crucial for me.  I spend time discussing with Denise what is happening, and no matter how weird it may sound to me, she can usually help me and/or explain to me other types of therapy I should look into to help.  I know my brain fog is gaining in severity, but it is very apparent to me that it would be much worse if I didn’t receive such good care from Denise at The Manual Touch.
Read More
I saw Denise for ongoing heal pain as well as an athletic back pain injury. My back pain is gone and my heal pain (which I’ve had for several years) is significantly better so that it doesn’t interfere with activity. The exercises Denise gave me have strengthened my core and will prevent future injuries. Not only that, she provides personalized and attentive treatment the entire visit (much more personalized care than traditional PT centers). I highly recommend Denise!
Read More

Our Mission


We believe all body systems and mental/emotional health are connected. We take a whole body approach to discover why patients are not healing and what were the initial causes of their current symptoms. 

Our mission is to use this whole body approach to help patients heal and overcome pain and limitations, resulting in improved quality of life. We also aim to promote wellness in our communities through ongoing education. 
Top 10 physical therapists in Wheeling

A winner of the
2015 Patients' Choice Awards
for
Wheeling Physical Therapist

Verified by Opencare.com

Testimonials

Judy has been living with Rheumatoid arthritis for the past 30+ years and typically uses a wheelchair around her house and a cane or walker outside. “I seem to be in less pain, can stand longer.  I also am walking somewhat straighter and furthe… Read more
I came in to see Denise due to a cervical disc herniation.  I have been told by Illinois Bone & Joint that they refer patients to Denise often as she is able to help when other physical therapy programs fail.  That was definitely the case in my situ… Read more
Denise, owner of The Manual Touch, has been amazing for me and my family. I first began seeing Denise when I herniated my back and did not want surgery. Personal attention, caring and patient are only a few words to describe Denise. She uses a mix of… Read more
I had constant neck pain from a car accident 2 years ago.  I went through PT somewhere else without any good results.  I then was recommended to come to The Manual Touch PT. At my first appointment I could tell that Denise was able to get right … Read more
I’m a pediatric physical therapist and I was taking a yoga teacher training.  My left shoulder and neck were getting progressively tighter and eventually pain was keeping me up at night.  I knew I wanted treatment from a very knowledgeable PT wit… Read more
I’ve been to several other PT’s but have never had as effective and long-lasting results as I experienced through Denise. While training for a 70.3 Ironman this year, I developed some debilitating hip and leg pains that made me question whether I… Read more
Denise is a great physical therapist. She helped to heal a back injury that had been bothering me for years. The exercises were simple and effective. It was also great to have an app and videos for reference. I definitely recommend Manual Touch.”  … Read more
Due to a stroke of good luck, I saw a class on Lower Back Pain offered by Denise from The Manual Touch Physical Therapy at Northbrook YMCA. I followed up with an assessment by Denise. Three years ago, I fell and broke my right arm and hip, followed … Read more
As my fibro symptoms flare, my reliance on IMT and other forms of manual therapy Denise uses is crucial for me.  I spend time discussing with Denise what is happening, and no matter how weird it may sound to me, she can usually help me and/or explai… Read more
I saw Denise for ongoing heal pain as well as an athletic back pain injury. My back pain is gone and my heal pain (which I’ve had for several years) is significantly better so that it doesn’t interfere with activity. The exercises Denise gave me have… Read more
Read More

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

Copyright © 2021 The Manual Touch, LLC. · 325 n. milwaukee ave. · Ste D. · Wheeling, IL. 60090 · 847-541-7600

The information provided on The Manual Touch Physical Therapy website is for personal and noncommercial use only. The resources and content provided should be used for educational purposes only and not as a substitute for appropriate medical care. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort please seek medical attention.