The Shugyo Project

It’s the end of January 2026, and Christmas has disappeared into the mists like it never happened. If I’m being totally honest, it’s not been the most productive month on the training front.

Despite eating reasonably well over the festive period (no total blowout), I still put on a kilo. I’m not too bothered. It’ll shift. But then the kids went back to school and kindly passed on their cold. That bug stuck around for three weeks, cleared off briefly, then came back for another week. Brilliant. Training had to take a back seat.

I’ve managed three runs, a couple of swims, and two resistance sessions, but let’s say around 60% capacity. It’s something, though. Better than zero.

While I was out of action, I decided to sort the “gym” (my cellar, to be accurate). Cleared it out, gave it a fresh lick of paint, laid some proper gym matting. It looks great now. Feels like a proper space.

Of course, sod’s law: cellars round here flood with heavy rain and groundwater issues. We’ve had three storms back-to-back, flood warning issued, and it’s very close. Not flooded yet, but when it does, I’ll have to clear the whole thing out again. Classic January.

Adding to the blues, my company announced they’re putting a third of the workforce at risk of redundancy. Thankfully my team and I are safe for now, but it brought back memories of the English Channel swim. Same time of year, redundancy hit then too, but the swim gave me focus. History repeating, sort of. This time, the Matterhorn is helping out.

Enough of that. Some good news:

The long-standing Achilles tendon issue (nagging since that hilly 10k in September) has finally calmed down. Rest and gentle jogging seem to have sorted it.

I’ve published an article in the local village magazine and at work, hoping to drum up some sponsorship. Fingers crossed it brings in a few donations for Aspire.

Big one: the Cheeky Chapati pop-up restaurant is making a return! Eyeing end of April into early May. Same setup. Homemade pickles, mains, bread; 70s Bollywood music; colourful place settings. Last time I filled 60 covers. This year, aiming to triple that. It’ll be a proper fundraiser for Aspire. Kitchen suffering to support those facing much tougher challenges.

On the skills side, I started a Personal Trainer course at the end of 2025. I’m 68% through the first module. It’s involving and very interesting, and surprisingly useful for prepping my own body for 4,477 metres of Swiss granite. Hoping to finish the first course by end of April, which times nicely before things ramp up.

So January wasn’t fireworks. Illness, weather threats, work stress. The usual tried to derail me. But the deposit’s paid, countdown’s ticking (about five months left), and small wins are building: Achilles behaving, gym sorted (flood pending), sponsorship seeds planted, Cheeky Chapati revival lined up, PT knowledge growing.

The Matterhorn fear is still there. Perfect fuel. Legs complain now, but they’ll cope. Or at least not mutiny entirely.

Cheers if you’re still reading. Donate if you want to back Aspire. Every bit helps people with spinal cord injuries get practical support to rebuild independence. Your contribution means more than my sore bits ever will.

Next month: more sessions, hopefully less snot, and maybe a proper weighted hike without the universe conspiring.

Countdown continues. Nick