Busy Times to Come

After an impressive start to the season with a 2nd place behind Chris McCormack at the Lavaman Triathlon in Hawaii Tyler is excited and motivated for the racing to come.

On the race schedule Tyler has 7 races in 10 weeks starting this weekend.

First off is Monterrey ITU World Cup (Tyler is in Monterrey at the moment) which for this year is a `preparation race’ for his key races following. Keeping his name in the minds of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) is a very important part of making sure Tyler is on the start-line for the London Olympics in 2012. Tyler is looking forward to racing more regularly on the World Cup Circuit again in 2011.

After a quick there-and-back trip to Mexico Tyler is on the road for 6 weeks.

The first race on the list for his big trip is the American 70.3 Championships (Half-Ironman distance) in Texas where he also has family. Tyler’s Mom’s side of the family is originally from Denver, but his Uncle-Miller moved out to Houston to be the talent scout for the Houston Texans Football Team. Everyone is excited to come out and cheer Tyler on.

From there Tyler will travel directly to St. Croix for another 70.3.  St. Croix is one of the most well known races in the US and is renowned for it’s hilly course and its heat,  Tyler is particularly excited for this one.

After St Croix he is off to Bermuda for a month where we was born and raised. Bermuda is where all his Father’s side of the family and childhood friends live. Of course he is excited to see them all, but there is no rest for professional athletes. He will race the `Tokio Triathlon’ which is put on by his major sponsor Tokio Millennium Re. (a reinsurance company) and the 24th of May Half-Marathon. The 24th of May is a public holiday in Bermuda and it’s is the most well-supported race by the public.

With a long history of runners in the Butterfield family (Tyler’s Mom Debbie won 24th of May many times and father Jim was also on the podium multiple times too)  Tyler is extremely well supported along the point-to-point course. Tyler was beaten by his cousin-in-law Chris Estwanik last year. Chris is a former 1500m professional runner who has recently found his legs in the longer distances.

After a month in Bermuda Tyler will race in New Hampshire at the Mooseman 70.3 before heading back to Boulder for a few days. The following weekend he is off to the Boise 70.3 (Idaho) and then after a short reprieve (he gets a weekend off racing) he heads to Philadelphia for his 2nd major sponsors race which is now part of the `Lifetime Series’.

Tyler decided to stack the early part of his season with much more racing than the average professional triathlete does for 2 reasons:

1. he wants to give his sponsors the exposure they want and deserve early in the season so he can focus on preparing specifically for the Ironman World Championships (Hawaii) from July-October; and
2. he believes it is possible to apply the knowledge he acquired throughout his 4 years as a professional cyclist to the triathlon world. Cyclists typically build a strong training foundation in the off-season, and race very frequently with less training between races in the main part of the season. In effect they use racing to find their top form.
   

After a successful reconnaissance/training camp a few weeks ago in Hawaii Tyler is super-excited about the World Championships in October this year. Of course he wants to perform well in any races he enters, but his major focus for 2010 is Hawaii.

Keep an eye on this space for updates after each race in the coming weeks.