Thanks to everyone that popped in for Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live Global 2021. It was a great time filled with chats about nothing in particular, crazy stories about unimportant things, and even the occasional funny picture. It was just was Tom’s Corner has always been. A way for the community to come together and be around each other in a relaxing and low-key environment. Maybe we couldn’t meet in person but we got together when we needed it the most.

There was also something else that Tom’s Corner has represented for me for the last year that I didn’t even catch until it was pointed out to me by my wonderful wife Kristin (@MrsNetwrkingNerd). Tom’s Corner was the start of something that made me feel better about everything.

Get On Up and Move

After Tom’s Virtual Corner in 2020, I was energized. I needed to get up and get things done after sitting in a chair for hours talking to all my absent friends and getting the energy I needed to feel after months of being locked away during a pandemic. I felt on top of the world for the first time in quite a while. And I needed to do something with that burst of energy.

So I got up and went for a walk. Exciting, right? I recorded a quick Periscope (RIP) video thanking everyone in the community for turning out and being a part of things even behind the keyboard. Then I kept going. Walking a mile or two and then coming back home. I noticed that after I did I closed my Apple Watch fitness rings for calories burned and exercise.

Rather than just counting steps like a Fitbit, Apple came up with their own measure of activity. I had a love/hate relationship with it. Some days it was easy to get my goal for standing once a minute every hour. Other days was impossible thanks to airplanes and such. Calories could be a breeze on days at events due to all the walking. Or they could be a disaster on days when I barely got out of my chair. Exercise goals were almost impossible. How could I find time to hit those?

After the amazing energy of Tom’s Virtual Corner in 2020, I decided to get serious about fitness. No more excuses. No more giving up and calling it a day because it was too hot outside or raining. I was going to do this because I needed to do it and the people that I care for in the community gave their time to be a part of something special to me. If they could do that I could find the time to do it too.

June 1 became June 30th and I was still going strong. I kept moving. My walking turned into getting back into running with a Couch to 5k beginner program I’ve done several times before. This time I was determined not to give up so easily. I thought back to the year before when I was able to run for a bit but ended up mixing up the walking and running and ultimately going back to being all but sedentary. The key for me this time was moving every day. Not just getting out every other day but walking one day and running the next.

The Running Nerd

Before I knew it, I was running more than I was walking. I was going further with every exercise. I felt better. I also noticed that I was losing weight, which was something that hadn’t happened the last time I was exercising. My health was improving. My belt had to tighten an extra notch. By the time of Mobility Field Day 5 at the end of July someone pointed out that I looked slimmer. I didn’t really notice it that much.

As the months went on more and more people remarked that I looked slimmer and fitter. It took four months before I stepped on a scale to be sure. And yes, I really was losing weight. Not a few pounds but a lot of them. As best as I can guess I was somewhere just over 265 pounds in this picture from February 2020:

Looking back at it now I can’t even believe it. I didn’t change my diet. All that happened was that we started cooking more and more meals at home thanks to the pandemic. I got better at making things I wanted to eat and knowing what was going into them. My every-other-day runs became more frequent. I was only walking twice a week now and running the other five days. My runs went from just barely 3 miles on occasion to at least 5 miles a day. My walks were up to 6 miles a day too.

Here’s a side by side comparison of what I looked like in June of 2020 and what I look like right now (March 2021):

I’m down three pants sizes. I weigh 210 pounds, down 55 lbs from my highest weight just over a year ago. My running is getting faster. I feel better. My doctor has told me everything looks much better than it did when he saw me last year for my checkup. When I got my BSA medical form filled out for my activities right before the pandemic last year I was worried I was going to be in trouble because I was too heavy for my height. When I had it done again last month I was well under the weight limit for the first time in a very long time.

Tom’s Corner is what set me on this path. The positive energy of the community kicked me forward and helped me see that I needed to be healthy. I needed to get back to a place where I didn’t feel self-conscious and worried about weight gain or my fitness to go on hikes or be active. The response of people when they see how much weight I’ve lost or how much I run has boosted my confidence even more and encouraged me to keep going.

I’ve closed my rings for 303 straight days. The light at the end of the year-long tunnel is almost here. I’m going to make it there even if I have to walk at 11:00pm at night to get those last few calories or do an Apple workout in the middle of a blizzard to make sure I didn’t miss my exercise goal. It’s something that drives me to wake up and make plans for the day. When I didn’t get my run in during Tom’s Corner this year I made sure to get it done as soon as I could so I didn’t miss out. I need to stay healthy and happy to ensure there are more Tom’s Corner meetups in the future.

Tom’s Corner

Motivation is hard. I’ve learned that lesson my whole life both the easy way and the hard way. Like a shark, if I stop moving I’m not going to start again. Planning how I’m going to make this all happen takes cycles of my day but results in a happier, healthier, more confident me. Thanks to my friends and fellow community members at Tom’s Corner I’ve transformed myself into something to be proud of. I’m often told that Tom’s Corner gives people something they need. Maybe it’s a place in the community. Or a friendly conversation when they need it the most. For me, Tom’s Corner was the kick in the pants I needed to be a better Tom. Thank you all for helping me turn that corner and get better.