Lochte takes a short route back

You could hear the clatter of skateboards in the background behind the pool and better waves not even half an hour away were urging him to stop by.

Yes, this was the picture of a perfect swim meet designed for Ryan Lochte.

Especially with short-term motivation in short supply at this stage of the swim season, and a mere few months after he accomplished his long-term goal in winning an individual gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing, in the 200-meter backstroke.

Getting back on the swim treadmill after so much success -- four medals in China, two gold and two bronze -- was never going to be easy, and if the Southern California scenery could lend an assist, then Lochte was ready to take full advantage at this short-course meet.

“I’m going surfing between sessions tomorrow,” he said Saturday afternoon at the Belmont Olympic Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

This was a couple of hours before Lochte won the 200-yard backstroke in 1 minute 39.01 seconds at the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming. Fellow Olympian Matt Grevers finished second in 1:40.42.

Earlier, Lochte reflected on his post-Beijing life and looked to the future but did indulge in a couple of glances in the rear-view mirror at the China experience.

Not an option was taking off for an extended period of time. He tries to skateboard at least three times a week and could envision getting used to a life of skateboarding and surfing, not training and tapering. And “always” thinking about food.

“I feel if I took that long off, I wouldn’t want to come back,” Lochte said. “I’d just get into that mode of not going to the pool, like skateboarding and surfing all day.”

Lochte may carry the surfer vibe but there’s much more he needs to get done in the pool before he lets his inner slacker fully take hold.

“I feel I haven’t accomplished what I think I’m capable of doing,” he said.

Which would be?

“I think I’m capable of getting like six or seven golds at an Olympics,” Lochte said. “I know in the events that I swam, I know I’m a lot faster. And I know I can do more events. That’s what I’ll be going for.”

To that end, his program schedule will be adjusted leading up to London in 2012. Gone, probably after this year, will be the grueling 400 individual medley, barring a drastic change of heart. He earned bronze in Beijing in that event to Michael Phelps’ gold, and Phelps has indicated he won’t be swimming the 400 individual medley, either.

All this finally gives hope to the other American men having to exist in the wake of the potent one-two punch of Phelps and Lochte in the event all these years.

Said Lochte, smiling: “They can go through that pain, not us. It’s all yours.”

He still could swim the 400 individual medley at the world championships this summer in Rome, but hasn’t made a final decision. Beyond that, he will be making changes.

“I’m going to start doing shorter events, so I think my training is going to go down a little,” Lochte said. “Which is smart because I’m getting older, my body is getting older. It can’t take the beating that much.”

At 24, Lochte is clearly in his prime, and so it sounds funny to hear him talk about getting older. But the years of training have taken a toll.

“I can feel it,” he said. “Before I could do back-to-back events, like no problem. I’d be fine. Now I do one event and I’m like, I’m tired. Very tired.

“It’s all the hard work I’ve been doing. It’s catching up. Especially now because I’m just starting to get back into things. Now, it’s like, ‘Man, I cannot get up. I’m sore!’ ”

Lochte and his longtime coach Gregg Troy are in agreement on paring his program, and Lochte sounded almost philosophical the way he is approaching his body of work in the pool.

“I guess I got through 2008 -- that was the end of my swimming career,” he said. “And now, it’s time to start another one. That’s the way we’re pretty much approaching it. We’re off to a slow start. . . . It feels like I haven’t been in the water in years.”

That led to a particularly painful opening race Saturday, the “A” consolation final of the 100 freestyle. His time was 43.18 seconds.

“Let’s just leave that out,” he said, smiling. “The 100 free, let’s just say I was in so much pain. I’ve never felt that bad before.”

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Mary DeScenza won two individual events, the 200 backstroke and the 200 butterfly, the latter in an American record 1:51.28. The previous mark (1:51.91) was set by Natalie Coughlin in 2002.

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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Grand Prix of Swimming

Where: Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, Long Beach

When: Through Monday.

Hours: Preliminaries start at 9 a.m. Finals begin at 5 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Monday.

Who: Among the top swimmers entered are Olympians Ryan Lochte, Matt Grevers and Lacey Nymeyer and Ous Mellouli, who represented his native Tunisia.

-- Lisa Dillman