Mary Joy Tabal poses with Italy’s top male marathoner Stefano La Rosa, who is training for the World Championships. Photo taken from Tabal’s FB account with permission.
Cebu Olympian Mary Joy Tabal, who is already on her fourth month of training in Italy, is optimistic with her chances in the Asian Games 2018 which is less than two months away.
“Feeling better everyday, buyag-buyag,” said Tabal in an interview with Cebu Daily News. “I’m feeling better, kulang nalang more long runs and am ready to go. First long run pa namu last Saturday, then tom napud ang second, progressing pami sa mileage going peak.”
The 2017 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist is currently in Monte Amiata for the altitude training, an athletic training that is done at high altitudes to improve athletic performance.
According to Tabal, her coach, Giambrone Giuseppe, has her doing still marathon specific training but this time in the high altitude where there’s less oxygen.
She added that they’ll go back to the training camp in Tuscany by July 7 but it’s possible that they will return to Monte Amiata because it is getting hotter in Tuscany with temperatures now reaching 40 degrees.
They need to go down first to test her training in the warmer weather because it is also hot in Jakarta where she will be competing in the Asian Games.
“Importante mahuman lang namu dri ang peak sa training, then adjustment nalang dayun sa init na weather,” said Tabal.
The Southeast Asian marathon queen was supposed to compete on the second week of June in the 21-kilometer distance of the Mezza Maraton de Roma, wherein she placed second last year, as part of her training.
However, she had to cancel it because she was feeling something on her right foot arc a week prior to the race, and she didn’t want to worsen it.
She said she’ll make up for missing that race with perhaps a 10K road race by the end of July for evaluation and to gain more confidence.
Her coach, however, has yet to look for a race wherein she could compete.
Tabal is set to return to Cebu on August 14 and do tapering training while she awaits instruction from the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association.
The Asian Games will open on August 18 and the women’s marathon will be on August 26.
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