SPENDING some time in Italy to get herself ready for future international competitions seemed to have paid off for Olympian Mary Joy Tabal.
The 27-year-old Tabal expressed her feelings of relief and happiness after she topped the women’s division of the 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend half marathon in record-breaking time last Sunday.
“Sobrang saya po. Happy na happy po ako sa performance ko, worth it lahat nang pagsisikap, sakripisyo at worth it din ang tiwala nu’ng sponsors ko at nang mga coaches ko,” said the 4’11” Tabal, who is still in Ottawa, in an interview with the Manila Standard.
Tabal, who is from Bgy. Guba in Cebu City, reached the finish line in one hour, 16 minutes and 27.4 seconds, to claim her first title in an international race.
In doing so, she broke the nine-year-old national record of 1:18.45, which Mercedita Manipol-Fetalvero set in 2008.
She said she never bothered to look at her watch during the race, which saw her placing eighth overall, beating rival Brittany Moran, who came in second at 1:1842.5.
Lynda Gringras was third (1:22.58.3), followed in fourth by Karoline Hoy (1:24.54).
“I only thought of running the fastest that I can. I never bothered to look into my watch para ‘di ako ma-pressure. I just told myself to just keep on running and push. For as long as I was still breathing, then I’m okay,” added Tabal.
Tabal, who is coached by John Paul Duenas, quit the national team after she saw action and placed 124th in the Rio Olympics in August last year.
She is regarded as the first Filipino marathon runner to qualify for the Olympics, making it with a time of 2:43:29 in the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in 201.
She said she has been to Italy for a month from April 20 to May 19, with the support of Cebu-based sponsor Motorace Kawasaki.
“It helped me believe in myself na kaya ko. It’s more on believing and trusting on our training, our coaches, our teammates, yourself, and to everybody na naniniwala na kaya ko,” said Tabal.