June Mom of the Month

Our mom of the month program honors moms for their efforts to lead healthy lifestyles, and gives us a chance to get to know them better at the same time!

June's featured Mom of the Month is Valerie Sherman! Congrats, Valerie!

Valerie first joined us as part of our "Running Mamas" race training in 2010, and completed her first 5k with our training program.  She joined Stroller Strides after the running season ended, to keep up the cross-training and challenging workouts with her adorable kiddos along for the ride, and has brought fierce determination to her workouts ever since, making huge strides in health and fitness over the past several years!  She is a dedicated 5:45am Body Back Bootcamp mama, working hard before the kiddos are even out of bed.  She's participated in additional Running Mamas seasons since her first season, and recently completed her first 10k with this past spring's program!  Join us in congratulating Valerie on all of her achievements in improving her health and fitness and inspiring other moms to do the same, and read on to get to know her better!

Hometown:  Leland, NC, right over the bridge from Wilmington.  My dad was in the Coast Guard so I did do a brief stint during my middle school years in Corpus Christi, TX but we always kept a house in NC as a home base.

Current part of the Triangle that you live in: 

Fuquay Varina 

Education: Not knowing what I wanted to do with my life after high school I chose to attend Peace College as a "finishing school" where I received a BA in Liberal Studies and then moved on to NC State to get my BA in Sociology.   

Stroller Strides Member since: May 2011.  Prior to joining I participated in last years Spring Running Mamas.

 

Members of your Family:  Paul who I ironically met my first day of school at Peace College (he was close friends with my room mate).  We have been married for 13 years.  Isabel, Jack and then our furry babies Amos, Laverne and Shirley and a fish tank full of fish!

Tell us about your children: Isabel (4) is an extremely smart and active little clone of me in every way possible!  She is very competitive and likes to be involved in as many things possible like ballet and gymnastics.  She also has a very sensitive side. She is the first to make sure another child is ok if they fall on the playground and she will go out of her way to please you to the point of melt downs if she feels you are disappointed in her.  The combination of fear of failure and shear competitiveness is scary and I am sure something I will have to manage very closely!  Jack (2) is all boy!  He is a daredevil and goes full force all the time!  I am honestly surprised I have not ended up in the emergency room with a broken bone yet!  He loves to jump off things, climb things and slide down the stairs on his belly.  He has hit the terrible twos and throws temper tantrums at the drop of a hat but in turn can make your heart melt with his huge smile and the bat of his long eyelashes.  Come to think of it both of my kids flip back and forth from one end of the spectrum to the other with little shades of grey in between...but then so does their mama!

Current/previous Career: Currently I am a SAHM and love it!  Previously I was a Senior Account Executive at a Pharmaceutical Advertising Agency. 

What was your childhood ambition? The first job I ever remember wanting was to be in advertising.  Now lets be clear I wanted to work with celebrities in consumer advertising not work with obnoxious doctors in pharmaceutical adveritsing!  Who knows, maybe I will go back one day!  The coolest thing I ever got to do in pharma was spend the day selecting nude models for the Mederma scar cream campaign. 

What does motherhood mean to you? Everything! I am constantly thinking of ways to form life long bonds or memories for my children.  Sometimes that includes yearly elaborate trips to Disney but mostly it means instilling traditions and carving out special mommy and daughter or mommy and son time to let them know how important they are to me individually. 

What is the furthest you have been from home? Hawaii

What has Stroller Strides done for you? First and most importantly it has gotten me on a regular fitness schedule.  Secondly, it has given me a whole new pool of friends who are going through the same things I am going through so I know I am not alone in this thing called motherhood.  I look at other friends who aren't Stroller Strides members and think how do you keep your sanity!   

What has your experience been like with our Running Mamas program? I love running mamas! Before I started running mamas I was more of a walker.  I never thought I would be able to run a 5k much less a 10K.  I have done running mamas three times and have no intentions of slowing down!
 
What have you enjoyed most about Body Back? The access to a personal trainer at a budget price and a phenomenal group of ladies who make working out at 5:45am fun!

What is your favorite exercise? Weight training.  I want Michelle Obama arms one day!

What is your proudest moment? The day I was able to say I had lost 100lbs.  Granted my heaviest day was the day I delivered Jack but it still counts right?!

What are three of your favorite things (besides your family!)? Handbags, a good book and me time.

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us or makes you unique. The only thing that is unique or odd is that i have an extra bone in my mouth.  So the inside of your mouth probably goes up right?  Well mine goes down.  It makes it hard to swallow pills, impossible to hold a lollipop in my mouth and me not a good candidate for dentures! 

  

If we asked your spouse what they think your best qualities are, what would they say? Well I asked him and his first response was a physical trait that I will spare you!  When I explained the question again his response was "an attentive mother who puts her family before herself, confidently opinionated (he was nervous to tell me this because he was sure I would take it as him calling me a b*#ch!) and finally patient at husbands shortcomings". 

After the Spring Run for our Heroes 5k this year

What advice would you give to moms looking to get back into shape? There are three things I have learned since I chose to be healthier and jump on the fitness train.  First, find a fitness buddy or buddies that has the same goals as you because they make you accountable and support you through your failures and successes.  Secondly, understand there are going to be those people who want to secretly see you fail so cut them out of your life because they aren't your real friends and keep on truckin it! Finally, fitness is lifelong with peaks and valleys.  When you hit a valley do your best to maintain until you get re-motivated to climb the mountain again!