Daniel Wiffen says he will quit the California training base that he shares with his twin brother Nathan if the times he swims at next week's Irish Open in Bangor are not what he's looking for at the five-day meet.
Nathan, who left Loughborough University in England to move to northern California, has been swimming in the NCAA series for Cal-Berkeley at NCAA level, while Daniel has been training with Cal's pro group.
"It's always been on my mind, because if something doesn't work, I'm not going to stick at it," the reigning Olympic 800m freestyle gold medallist said.
"If Loughborough wasn't good, if I didn't have such big drops when I went to Loughborough, I probably would not have stayed in Loughborough. And it's always on the same mind. I don't know how I'm going to swim next week because of the training.
"I know I'm going to be fast, but who knows how fast.
"So, in terms of me saying that, I'm just telling you that that's what I'm thinking. And to be honest, if you really want to know what I'm thinking, I'm thinking of probably coming back to Dublin.
"If it doesn't go well, that's kind of what I've been thinking. But we'll have to see, obviously. I mean, if I swim the lights out in Bangor, then my decision is obviously carbon made."
California's loss could be Ireland's gain if Wiffen decides to train at one of the high performance centres, which are based in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast, and now under the tutelage of new Swim Ireland high performance director Andy Reid.
"I talk to Andy nearly every couple of weeks," Wiffen revealed. "I feel like we're always on the phone.
"He was obviously my junior pathway performance coach, and he came out to California at the end of January.
"So, it was quite good to see him then, and he was just checking in on how I'm doing, and he's always checking how I'm doing at the moment.
"I told Sarah Keane (the former Swim Ireland CEO) when they were looking for the person and job, I wanted Andy Reid. I kind of got the person I asked for.
"One of the main reasons I left Loughborough was because I wasn't convinced that I could stay there and still go fast, and I wasn't convinced that the training that they were doing and the way the programme was moving, that I could actually perform to the best of my ability. That's the reason why I moved.
"So, when I went to California, it was kind of like an eye-opening experience. Everything was brand new. Everything was kind of working.
"Now we've been there a bit of time and it's good to see if it actually does work, and that's what I'm judging at the trials."
Wiffen had appendicitis that hampered his performances at the World Championships in Singapore last year and he says he has fully recovered.
Next week at the Irish Open in Bangor, Wiffen will compete in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events.
"I'm fully tapering for this championship, so is Nathan, and I'm feeling pretty good, feeling on form," he added.
"I'm not sure how fast I'm going to go because I haven't raced properly in a long time, so we'll see how it goes. But yeah, I'm hoping to do personal bests."
The Irish Open takes place at the Bangor Aurora Centre from 8-12 April and is a qualifier for both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
