Attack of the Larvae

The lake at Shadow Cliffs park in Pleasanton LOOKS lovely, but it is not the most pleasant to swim in. Upon stirring up the dirt at the bottom of the lake with our feet as we entered the water for a 45 min. swim, a massive cloud of larvae enveleped us. Apparently they only latch onto your skin during certain seasons, and it takes 1-4 hours to know if they've attacked, which is indicated by symptoms similar to mosquito bites-red itchy bumps. So I entertained myself with images of yucky worm-like creatures burrowing into me for the duration of the swim. Then, I spent the 45 minute run trying to focus on the beautiful scenery, but wasn't able to keep my mind off of the itchy feeling that may or may not have been the effects of the larvae. Luckily, Stu - the boyfriend of my first ever TNT mentor Izumi, caught up with me, so I had someone to chat with for the second half of the run. Upon finishing, we raced home to the shower to rinse off the lake water and hopefully escape the the larvae infestation. Fortunately there were no itchy-red bumps to report. I have a new found respect for Aquatic Park - while a million degrees colder, the only visible critters are sea otters, and they are very cute.