Apolo Anton Ohno Undecided On 2014 Winter Olympics

Apolo Anton Ohno, the United States' most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, isn't ready to close the door on competing in another Olympic games just yet.

Ohno said he has until December to make a decision on whether he's retired from speed skating or whether he'll head to Russia's Sochi Games in 2014.

"It's all about what I want in my heart," he told a pair of reporters in Phoenix, where he was the grand marshal for last Sunday's NASCAR race. "If I went out for another Olympic Games – I gotta be honest with you – it's not going to be to break more records, it's not going to be to get more medals.

"That's what I want to do, and I want to win races, but look – I love the sport. And that's the reason I would go back – because I love what I do and I have to have it as part of my life for another couple years."

First on his list, though, is training for November's New York City marathon. As a spokesman for Subway, Ohno was challenged by fellow sandwich endorser Jared Fogle to attempt the marathon this year.

He's set to begin training shortly, and said preparing for the 26.2-mile run will be a "daunting task."

"People always ask me, ‘Shouldn't it be easy? You're an elite athlete, you're fit already,'" Ohno said. "In some ways, yes, but we train differently. My longest (speed skating) race is two and a half minutes; my shortest race is 40 seconds. So training for those is a little different."

One thing you won't see is Ohno burst out of the pack early like he does on ice.

If he did, "They'll be saying, ‘Oh, Apolo is looking amazing....and now he's going to the port-o-potty. He's stopping the race!'" he said with a laugh.

A major reason the former "Dancing With The Stars" champ hasn't decided whether to commit to the 2014 Olympics is because of his hectic schedule.

In the last year, he says he hasn't slept in any one place for more than three consecutive nights due to various commitments – public speaking, a book tour, a nutraceutical company he owns.

He would be 31 at the start of the next Olympics, but said he believes he's still physically capable of competing against – and beating – the world's best.

Ohno said he'd need "at least two years" to train, which is reduced from the three-and-a-half-year minimum he would have needed for the last Olympics, he said.

"Now that I know my body so well – I know what it took to get ready for the last Olympic games and I know how to train –I just understand it a lot better," he said. "...I wish I knew this stuff 10 or 15 years ago when I was getting started – I'd never lose a race."