Tabal is good to go for SEA Games

With a few days left before wrapping up a long training stint abroad, Cebuana marathoner Mary Joy Tabal declared she's almost good to go for the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Aug. 19.

“My mindset for now is to finish all my remaining long and hard training. I'm almost good to go now,” said Tabal, who will wrap up her training at the Tuscany Training Camp in Italy this week.

During the course of her training, it was the three-week stint in the high altitude St. Moritz in Switzerland that challanged Tabal the most. She said that her training in the high elevated place made her a better athlete.

“This week is the last of my long and hard training. I'm going to finish strong,” the 2015 Sea Games silver medalist told SunStar Cebu.

Tabal of Motor Ace Kawasaki Racing Team will return to the Philippines on Aug. 9 before flying to Malaysia on Aug. 16. The marathon event will blast off hours before the formal opening ceremony on Aug. 19.

The native of Barangay Guba, Cebu said that her priority is to win the gold medal in Sea Games and getting a good time is just second to that.

“The time will depend on the pacing during the race. I also want to have a good finish time, but in a competition like Sea Games, the medal and ranking is always the priority,” said Tabal.

The Olympian Tabal is one of the athletes who will be vying for a medal before the official start of the biennial meet. The other sporting events that will start early are archery, sepak takraw and aquatics.