Enter David Hainish’s Milton, Ont., basement while he’s training and you’ll be enveloped in the whirring of his stationary bike.
The 32-year-old triathlete spends hours down there sometimes training for his next big conquest. But right now, he’s in recovery mode after a record-smashing performance at Ultraman Florida a couple weekends ago in the Orlando area.
“I think one of the biggest things I wanted to do was make people proud, just proud of my accomplishments,” said Hainish.
“If I put in hard work, something good comes out of it.”
And it did.
Hainish completed the three-day, 321.6-mile swim, bike and run challenge in 22 hours, eight minutes and 48 seconds. That’s good enough to score the top overall time at the 2017 event and the second-best since the inaugural Florida challenge in 2014.
He also destroyed the event’s day two bike record by almost 15 minutes.
“I wanted to test myself, emotionally, mentally and physically,” said Hainish.
“That’s what my journey has been all about … can I push myself, and how far? And if I reach a limit, can I break it?”
Hainish has no sponsors. He trained for this race on his own time and on his own dime.
“Six days a week, twice a day, morning and night,” he explained.
“I get one day of rest just to clear my mind.”
He manages this all while holding down a full-time job as a software developer. But he admitted while training for Ultraman Florida, he couldn’t have managed without his three-person crew, captained by his wife, Stephanie Nogueira.
Nogueira made all the sacrifices necessary for Hainish’s cause. From taking over chores and other responsibilities at home to making sure he was hydrated, nourished and motivated on the course.
During stretches in the race where crew were allowed to run beside their triathlete, Nogueira was there with calm words of assurance.
Whereas other athletes prefer more aggressive encouragement, “For David, it’s keeping him calm,” Nogueira explained.
“(I’d use a) very calm voice, very soft spoken, ‘You’re doing great. I love that you’re able to keep your head up.'”
Nogueira is also an endurance athlete and is currently in training for the Ironman Texas event in April. That means she and Hainish will be switching roles.
“I’ll be the guy doing the support role and supporting her this time,” Hainish said while smiling.
“It’s going to be great.”
After that, Hainish isn’t sure where he’ll compete next, but he said he has a few ideas.
“One being the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii. That would be the ultimate,” he said
Hainish said he feels he is more than physically capable of winning the top Ultraman challenge. The next event is scheduled for next November.