CEBUANO runner Mary Joy Tabal is making sure that she will end up with a respectable finish when she runs in the women’s marathon event of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 21.
She is still at the Nippon Sports Science University at the Setagaya campus in Tokyo, Japan and was set to leave for Brazil.
The 27-year-old Tabal celebrated her birthday two weeks ago doing road work at the different courses of the sprawling NSSU campus.
She is not working on finishing at a certain target time, but focusing on her endurance.
“Mahirap, pero enjoy naman. Wala akong specific training on time. It’s more on improving my pace at a longer distance,” said Tabal in a recent long-distance interview with the Manila Standard.
The 42-km event is set to start and finish at the famous Sambódromo and the course will take the world’s best runners past some of Rio’s most scenic areas.
Organizers tested the course last April, and it took athletes through some of the city’s most historic districts, giving them the opportunity to test signages and new technology, while assessing any route changes that might be needed.
After beginning in the Sambódromo, which said to be the home to the world-famous Rio Carnival parades, the race will continue on two of the city’s most imposing streets, Avenida Presidente Vargas and Avenida Rio Branco. Trained in the Philippines by John Philip Duenas, Tabal is spending her time at the NSSU under the supervision of Japanese mentor Akio Usami, who told her that speed will not be her problem in Rio, but conditioning.
“I’m focusing on endurance. Usami said I have no problem with speed. I have it. He said my problem is to maintain a certain pace. So, focus on getting a pace for a longer distance,” said Tabal.
On July 28, she went through the final phases of her preparation with Usami.
“Today’s my last meeting with Coach Usami. After our morning training, he took me to Harakensurf for my body treatment and conditioning because those last few days have been so tough. Then we took time evaluating my performance, planning and strategizing for my coming competition,” wrote Tabal on Instagram.
Tabal achieved her best time of 2:43.31 when she qualified for the Olympics in the Ottawa Marathon last May 29.
When she finally runs in Rio, Tabal will be pitted against the world’s best, which includes topranked Ethiopian runners like world no. 1 Tirfi Tsegaye and no. 10 Aberu Kebede.
Tsegaye, 31, made it when she won the Dubai marathon crown in 2:19:41 and was 2nd in the 2016 Boston Marathon (2:30:03).
Ethiopia is also fielding in world no. 11 Tigist Tufa, a 29-year-old marathoner who made it to Rio after placing second in the London Marathon (2:23:03).
Tabal said she had mixed feelings when she qualified for Rio. “Excited na may halong kaba. Pero nu’ng pagka-finish ko, I felt like I was the happiest runner na sumali sa Ottawa, priceless moment ko ‘yun, parang nabuo na ako bilang isang marathoner,” said Tabal.
She said she does not expect to have smooth-sailing time in Rio.
“Lahat ng pinagdadaanan ko, there were a lot of challenges, it was never been that easy for me to be here. And now for Rio, I will be expecting that it’s going to be harder and tougher for me. I just need to be focused and positive lang,” said Tabal.
She said that being in the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that inspires her to be better.
“In representing our country in those and these big events, I’ve come to experience how it was to be competing with these seeded and high-caliber athletes. And when they ask me where I came from, I am always proud to say that I’m from Philippines. And then makikita mo sa reaction nila na ‘parang bago to ha,’ na they won’t expect someone from our country to be running with the best and I have to prove them that we too can compete with them,” said Tabal.