Mirna Valerio is busy and booked.
She lives in Vermont, where she gets to enjoy the great outdoors year-round.
Bean to make athletic spaces more accessible.
Photo: Valerio: Arika Bauer/zionadventurephotog.com. Collage: Cassie Basford.
EatingWell: What foods do you eat that make you feel justgood?
I love to make pasta dishes.
So [that’s why] I make a lot of pasta dishes.
I also eat a lot of rice … so pasta and rice.
My mother makes a lot of rice and bean dishes … so, I love rice and beans.
I am a sucker for steak.
I struggled with anemia, so steak does the job for me.
EatingWell: What activities do you do that make you feel good?
Other than running, of course.
Valerio:I love getting on my bike!
And actually this is a change from two years ago when I started riding because I was injured.
Skiing is fairly new to me.
[I started] because I was injured and had to do all these other sports.
So, in 2020 I learned how to ski, and I will never go back.
Every single day that I go out skiing, is never a bad day.
Even when I got injured, I had fun that day.
I love winter and this is why I live in Vermont.
That’s fun too!
But I really like downhill skiing.
I do yoga and have a couple of people that I work with for yoga.
Then I do mobility work.
Movement in general,outside,is what I prefer to do.
That just keeps me happy and keeps the body working the way it should work.
EatingWell: What food can you not live without?
Valerio: My mom’s collard greens.
They’re so good, and they’re so good for you.
The way [my mom] makes them takes two or three days.
I can’t tell you the whole recipe, or I’d have to kill you …
It’s one thing that I cannot live without.
EatingWell: Are there any particular ways you like to hydrate as an athlete?
If I’m going on a really long run, I’ll have a flask of just plain water.
And so I just remain hydrated by taking little sips along the run.
EatingWell: What has being an athlete taught you about food and how it fuels you?
Valerio: I will say that I’ve always appreciated food.
I love food; food is love, food is community, food is being with your family.
My family has a very strong tradition of everybody having to know how to cook.
Everyone brings something to the table, and I love it.
As much as food is fuel, food is also nurturing, right?
It’s very nurturing, especially when it’s connected to a particular experience.
I know that food is fuel and I need it.
I will say all of this sugar-free electrolyte stuff is bullshit.
So that’s my little rant!
EatingWell: What has being an athlete taught you about body image?
Valerio:Do we have a couple of hours?!
It’s cool to see that they don’t care, and I don’t care either.
[My body] heals itselfthat’s really cool.
And that can take me really far.
And with my own feet, I can do all these really, really cool things.
My body is great but, you know, I don’t love it all the time.
I don’t because nobody loves anything all the time.
Sometimes I don’t love my husband all the time!
Sometimes it doesn’t look the way I want it to look.
EatingWell:What do you wish you could tell your younger self about body image?
That [negative messaging] wasn’t in my family.
I was, you know, chubby or whatever.
I never got that message that I was too “big” to do anything.
EatingWell: How do you feel about New Year’s resolutions?
Are you a fan or not?
I think we’re all past the “resolution” phase, because it has become very meaningless.
People set resolutions that are really not achievable for themthey’re unattainable.
That’s where we should be headed.
I like to have goals, that’s my thing!
I do think it’s an amazing opportunity to start anew or to restart something.
EatingWell: What does “healthy” mean to you?
Valerio: Oh my goodness, that term has been so commodified!
I think the concept of health is a very personal one.
So health is a very personal thing.
But if you might look at your life and be like, “I feel really good.
Not just physically but mentally and emotionally.
I have a great friend group.
I do things that fill my soul.
I get out and move intentionally for 45 minutes, four times a week.
And that’s what works for me,” I think that’s healthy.
