Every athlete has to plan to peak at qualifiers and especially for big events like the Olympics and Paralympics. The constant possibility of date changes and cancellations calls for creativity and remaining in a pre-peak state — for now, at least.

PENDREL Especially in an Olympic year, we’re highly planned out, what energy system we’re training, when, and for which event. You can’t be on peak form for an entire summer, so you have to be able to plan for it. That’s why I’m not doing maximal intervals right now, because it could be mental bullets that I’m going to need later. I have to save them for when I need them. Mental resources aren’t infinite. Just like you have to periodize your fitness, you have to periodize when you’re going to bring your game mentally.

WIEBE I’m a dangerous world-class athlete today and I will be in Tokyo.

COOLSAET You have to qualify for the marathon by the end of May, otherwise it’s too late. To get to peak in marathon, that’s usually 12 to 14 weeks of intense training. So I’ll just train hard. If nothing comes up or the Olympics get cancelled, I don’t really mind training hard. I won’t regret it. But I would regret it if I didn’t train and an opportunity presented itself.

PENDREL If you try and keep yourself at 100 per cent right now, when we could be racing in August for the first time, or July, or June, then you don’t have as much flexibility to bring your peak form when you want it. It’s been a stressful week and it’s changing every single day, by the hour even. I think it’s really important to focus on the daily habits of working my core, doing meditation, maintaining a level of performance, but not bringing myself to a peak level until I know there is a definite race date in the next four weeks.

WIEBE From a physiology perspective, I’m fitter and stronger than I’ve ever been. As we look towards peaking for the Tokyo Games, there are training blocks that get pretty intense about six to eight weeks out — that’s our last big load of training where we’re doing a lot of wrestling. It’s a really tough time. So that’ll be the final block of training in May and June of this year, and then we’ll begin to taper about 10 to 14 days out from the competition. If things change [like the date of the Games, for example], I’m incredibly fortunate. I work with the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary — with an exercise physiologist, an athletic therapist, a chiropractor, my coach, Paul Ragusa, a nutritionist, a mental performance coach. I have this team around me that is monitoring and working with me to make sure that I’m healthy and optimizing my training. I know that’s the case for many of Canada’s top elite athletes. Obviously there’s the stress, the mental aspect of preparing for the Olympic Games. I think there’s a tendency, too, for a lot of athletes and coaches to do more in an Olympic year, but I’ve been down this road before, it’s not my first rodeo [laughs]. I know I’ll be ready to go when it matters.

COOLSAET I’ve been to two Olympics, and this was kind of going to be the bonus one anyway, if I made it. The last two times I had the Olympic qualifier under my belt going into the Olympic year. And I’m not waiting for 2024. This is it.

MITCHELL Right now, we’re putting the work in. We’re hurting ourselves, training hard, doing the lactic sessions, getting our miles in on the road. So this is a time when we start to prepare for the Olympics — this far out.