Bob Roll is talking about the Pain Bank Account. The Tour de France is on, and today's stage is one of the most famous: Alpe d'Huez. Bob Roll is a funny man with a funny vocabulary; a funny way of expressing himself. And right now he's talking about the Pain Bank Account. It started me thinking: is there such a thing?

He reasoned that the cyclists who are truly competitive in the Tour have several years' training, racing, and 'pain-building' in them; therefore, they are able to make withdrawals from their accounts when the going gets tough. They can only make those withdrawals when the account is full; after years of suffering. The younger amateur racers are not able to tap into the account, because it's not been topped off. In essence, they have not put in the work; not paid their dues. Is this why Lance has been so successful with the sport? His Pain Bank Account has had many deposits, from years of racing to battling cancer. Perhaps Bob is onto something.

It starts me thinking of my own Pain Bank Account. It starts me wondering how much of an impact my prior Ironman races have had on my success at my most recent race. Did the suffering and pain I endured in Lake Placid in 2000 help me hold on for the win in Tempe? And by that logic, did the pain I handled in Arizona serve as a hefty deposit to my Account; one that will be there for future races over the Ironman distance?

Only time will tell if my ability to endure the hardships; to accept the pain; to manage the discomfort will have reached a new level. From my current experience in training and training races, I feel I have already managed to up the ante with my personal pain tolerance. I feel that the effort I extended in April at Tempe Town Lake has enabled me to grow my net worth, in a Pain Bank Account sort of way.

Come October I'll be interested to see what's there when I begin to make some withdrawals. I look forward to seeing what is there when I go a-lookin'.