Michael Phelps has delivered his verdict on that first training session after the only extensive break from the pool of his elite swim training career: "I'm in a world of pain right now. It's all over my body. I'm almost in a state of shock. Literally every part of my body is hurting," he told reporters during a teleconference with the media on the occasion of his selection as the USOC Male Athlete of the Year.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," he said. "It's time to stop fooling around and get back into shape."
Phelps, 15lbs heavier than ideal, resumed formal training on Tuesday with longtime coach Bob Bowman back in Baltimore after a few seasons away at Michigan. Phelps, just setting on a mission to put the super back in front of the fish said that he had spent a little over an hour in the weight room, a session that included sit-ups and other abdominal exercises on Tuesday and put in an hour in the water.
There is comfort in pain: "I feel like I have some normality back to my life. I can get to sleep earlier. I have no problem falling asleep now. I was completely worn out my first day back. After two hours or so of working out, I was absolutely dead. I had no problems falling asleep at 10 or 10:30 that night. It feels good to add some scheduling back to my life. The more I start getting back into it, the better I'm going to feel."
Phelps and Bowman have yet to decide which events will be on the sched for Rome 2009. One thing is (almost - note the word probably) for sure: "I'll never swim eight events at a major competition again," Phelps vowed. "I'm almost positive that my last eight-event meet was Beijing."
For his first competition since the Olympics, Phelps and Bowman have pencilled in a USA Swimming Grand Prix meet that on March 4-6 in Austin, Texas. In working his way back to fitness, Phelps has called on advice from teammate Erik Vendt: "I talked to Vendt (on Wednesday) and I was like, 'Dude, how did you do that?'" Phelps said. "He told me, 'Well, I knew it was going to hurt, and I just didn't care. You've got to push through it.' That's the kind of mentality you have to have. This is a kind of pain that I've never experienced in the sport. I kind of expected it. The biggest thing is you have to push through it."
The 23-year-old then peered over the horizon and said that he aimed to make it all count while it lasted: "Obviously, this is the last four years on my career. I don't want to come back and swim these four years and not be satisfied with how it went. I still have my goals and I want to make sure I reach my goals and accomplish my goals. I don't think it's going to be as intense as the last four years, but it's still going to be intense. The goals I set will not be a cakewalk to achieve. They're going to be high goals."
