CEBUANA Olympian Mary Joy Tabal believes she has become mentally and physically tough after a harsh training camp in the mountains of Saint Moritz, Switzerland.
According to Tabal, her high-altitude training in the mountains of Saint Moritz helped her improve a lot of aspects in her running skills, which could be the key to winning the gold medal in Southeast Asian Games this August.
“It’s not easy to be here because you have to overcome a lot of challenges. The air and oxygen level here is thin and the training here doesn’t make you feel good, and it gets you out of your comfort zone,” Tabal said. “But I managed to conquer it all, and I am very proud of myself for that.”
Tabal spent one month in Tuscany, Italy to train before heading to Saint Moritz.
“If you are in a training camp like this, you must have mental toughness not just a tough body because it’s not easy here. I am getting better and better here as the days pass by.”
The 28-year old Barangay Guba, Cebu City native won a silver medal in the 2015 Sea Games in Singapore.
The four-peat champion in the Milo Marathon national finals said training with world-class marathoners pushed her beyond her limits.
“Everyday training with these amazing athletes motivates me to train even harder. You can see the discipline, their mindset, they are goal-oriented, focused, so for me, these are good influence for me. Every day, I grow up and become better because I am surrounded with these people.”
She trained along with Matthew Centrowitz, the American Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500-meter run during last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.