Meet GTD Swimmer Cindy Perkins

Cindy Perkins, 59, lives in Fresno, Calif., and works as a medical librarian. She didn’t swim growing up. She discovered Masters swimming in the early 1980s in Los Angeles. Since she doesn’t compete, all of her swimming is for fun and fitness. Her club, the Fresno Dolphins, practices at Central East High School. Anywhere from four to 15 swimmers show up at a typical practice.

Perkins is up early four days each week to make The 5 a.m. practices. She needs to be out by 5:45 a.m. to get to work, but she gets in between 1200 and 1600 yards. Her favorite sets are drills, sprints and backstroke. There’s always a coach on deck in the morning. Sometimes she participates with the group, and sometimes she does her own thing. Perkins doesn’t do any open water swimming, saying she wishes to avoid “scary, creepy swimming creatures.”

When Perkins saw a GTD article in SWIMMER magazine, she knew she had to try it. She got a few other swimmers to join in the fun, and soon they were jealous of her 50-mile swim cap. Her goal for 2012 was to swim 50 miles, and she has already surpassed that by 35 miles. She feels that it is rewarding to swim for a goal and has her sights set on 100 miles in 2013.

Perkins shares her home with three furry, four-legged family members: Ozzie, Harriet, and Nelson, all dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and walking.