"When you talk about pain, and pain tolerance, it just becomes second nature because you've implemented this stuff in training. It becomes part of the thing that you enjoy most about the sport in a sick way.
"The best way I describe it to people -- anybody, whether you're winning an Ironman, or a marathon, anything -- speak to someone after the race. And what's the first thing they talk to you about? They don't tell you about how wonderful they felt at four miles ... they go, 'Oh man, at 10 miles, I didn't think I was going to finish.'
"They always grasp onto that moment, that painful moment. That's the whole reason we do it. That's the drug. It's that pain."
That's Chris McCormack, two-time Ironman world champion, in "Strength," the newest video from the Ali'i Drive video series. The video, which features triathletes discussing "what they define as strength, where and who they draw it from, and how they apply it in their own life," is part of Ironman's first ever original series:
These much-anticipated webisodes will go beyond the usual media interviews and standard athletes bios, telling the stories of the top pros in a way that can only be revealed from within. Ali'i Drive is about letting the public in on what makes some of the world's best endurance athletes tick. It will explore into how these athletes prepare mentally and physically while striving for a shot at winning the coveted IRONMAN World Championship.
"Pressure" and "Dreams" have already been released, with "Ticks and Routines" due out next. The series concludes on Oct. 24, with "The Start."
The Ironman World Championship race is set for Oct. 13, in Kona.