To Barca for CARMHA!
Local brothers taking on Ironman challenge for Nenagh charity
Nenagh brothers Noel and Denis O'Meara are training hard for what will surely rank among the most memorable events of their lives.
They're planning to travel to Barcelona in the autumn to take on the day-long endurance test that is an Ironman triathlon. Centered just outside the city at Calella, the 3.8km sea swim, followed by a 180km cycle, followed by a marathon (42km), the Ironman challenge will demand vast mental as well as physical strength from the local lads, who are taking it on as a fundraiser for Connection & Recovery in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA).
Noel (55) and Denis (46) both have a rugby and military background, and they have always been interested in keeping fit. Noel served with the Defence Forces for 21 years before joining Munster Rugby as a coach development officer. He and his younger brother played rugby with Nenagh Ormond and Young Munster in Limerick. Denis, who spent nine years with the Defence Forces, is now a lecturer in electrical engineering at LIT.
THE LURE OF IRONMAN
Both members of Nenagh Triathlon Club, the brothers set their sights on an Ironman challenge some years ago. This will be Noel's second attempt; he completed Ironman Barcelona in 2018 and intended to go again with Denis last year, only for the event to have been cancelled over the pandemic.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Noel actually enjoyed the experience and he hopes the Covid-19 restrictions will allow him back to Barcelona for another go.
“I loved it!” he said of the 2018 event. “I wanted to do it again the next day!”
He had previously run several marathons but said he found them all tougher than the Ironman.
“You have to pace yourself better in an Ironman. And training is one side of it but the nutrition and your plan is as important. Nutrition is huge - if you don't get that right, you're going to suffer at the end of it.”
He told of how he and his brother also use heart rate monitors in training, so as to match their nutrition intake with their energy usage, such is the science behind preparing for an event like this. Noel finished his first Ironman in a time of 11 hours and 52 minutes. Though now older, he is determined to shave a bit off that at the second time of asking. Ultimately, neither brother is too concerned about which of them crosses the line first, so long as they get there.
GRUELLING TRAINING REGIME
The O'Mearas are now entering the most gruelling period of their training regime. They are closely following an intense programme that started off with an eight-hour training week and builds to more than 20 hours per week.
“Monday is our rest day,” Noel outlined. “Tuesday: Swim/run. Wednesday, we do a triathlon at Dromineer. Thursday: Swim/run. Friday is a very long cycle - four hours; same on a Saturday, with a run off the bike. We do a long run of around two hours on a Sunday morning, and then we do an easy swim on a Sunday to recover.”
The brothers are now on the 18th week of this schedule. They plan to peak at Week 24 or 25 before easing off on the training ahead of the big day on October 3rd.
They do their Sunday swim at Youghal Quay, and on Wednesday they are joined by their fellow Nenagh Tri Club members at Dromineer.
“It's great to have people around you,” Noel said. “We get in earlier and do a bit extra on the swim. Then we bike and we run with the rest of them, and it's great to have the support of the club.”
He and his brother are following in the footsteps of several club members who are certified ‘Ironmen’ (and women), a number of whom also participated in the Barcelona event in recent years and are good mentors for anyone thinking of trying the increasingly popular Ironman milestone.
SUPPORTING CARHMA
But the O'Meara brothers have decided to do it as a fundraiser and they chose Nenagh-based CARMHA as the worthy beneficiary of their efforts.
Originally from Sallygrove in Nenagh and now living in Capparoe, they wanted to do something positive for their hometown. Noel said they were inspired to support the local mental health and addiction group after hearing a RTÉ radio interview with Yvonne Moroney, voluntary peer support worker with CARMHA.
“That just provoked me. I thought what she was saying was very real, and it's local. I was moved to contact Marie [Oppeboen, consultant psychiatrist and CARMHA co-founder] and asked her if she would be happy for us to raise some funds in the process. I just thought that, seeing as we're doing something so big, if it can benefit someone in any way, we should do it.”
Noel and Denis have set up an iDonate page with a fundraising target of €5,000, and everything raised will be given to CARMHA. Anyone who wants to show their support of the local brothers in their mammoth challenge for a very could cause can do so at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11407106_noel-denis-o--meara-s-page.html