(Editor’s note: Marcia Worth-Baker is blogging about her experience as a participant in SOFit15. She receives no compensation from The Village Green or from any businesses she mentions in these posts, and she pays for the classes she takes.)
Post-pedicure at Short Hills Hilton Eforea Spa
Fitness is its own reward, but incentives keep me moving towards that desired result. Recent days of shoveling, climbing over snow drifts, and power-walking in boots have done a number on my feet. So my incentive for doing at least one “unit” of exercise daily for ten days is that tiny extravagance, a pedicure.
The jury is out on whether runners — and I take this to mean any of us who are beating up our feet through exercise — should have pedicures. A discussion in The New York Times doesn’t weigh in decisively except to note that lots of us use this particular incentive.
So how should we, especially those who are newly active during the South Orange Health and Fitness Challenge, treat our feet?
I started with new sneakers, which I had fitted at Sneaker Factory in Millburn. It turns out that I have been running in shoes a half size small for about three years, when I last bought sneakers. Buying the correct size should make a big difference in running and walking activities.
Likewise, I bought proper athletic socks for the first time, this time at the Running Company. Yup, they work. Wearing socks that support, stay in place, and don’t bleed color onto my sweaty feet has changed my life. I bought more of the same socks, and I have even worn them under work socks. It is a lumpy look, but my feet are happy.
Finally, pedicure time. I did my research, learning about runners’ pedicures and athletic foot care. What I didn’t find — and you, readers, may have predicted this — is an authoritative article that reads, “Marcia, go get a pedicure. It’s the right thing to do.”
Well, the great Toni Morrison told all of us that if there’s a story you want to read and you can’t find it, you must write it. Taking that as inspiration, this is it, from me to you: if you need an incentive in these early days of making fitness part of life, go get that pedicure.
This holds for men and women, by the way. I see men, especially at Kim’s in West Orange and at Leo’s in Maplewood, but I am sure the guys are welcome everywhere. A particular treat is the Eforea Spa at the Short Hills Hilton, where this photo was taken. For the price of a wonderful pedicure, you get access to the fitness center and indoor pool.
I’ll see you in the chair…or by the pool.
