diff --git a/src/levanter/data/mixture.py b/src/levanter/data/mixture.py
index d73f01081..188e5e426 100644
--- a/src/levanter/data/mixture.py
+++ b/src/levanter/data/mixture.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class MixtureDataset(AsyncDataset[T]):
 
     Args:
         datasets: A dict of datasets, where the key is the name of the dataset and the value is the dataset itself
-        weights: Weights for each dataset. This can be provided in a list of stages, where each stage is a tuple of (start_index, weights).
+        weights: Weights for each dataset. This can be provided in a list of stages, where each stage is a tuple of (start_seq_index, weights). Note that start_seq_index corresponds to the sequence index at which the weights should change, not the training batch index.
         stop_strategy: strategy for stopping the iteration, by default RESTART_STRATEGY. (Currently only RESTART_STRATEGY is supported)
             - FIRST_STOP_STRATEGY: stop when one dataset has been exhausted
             - ALL_STOP_STRATEGY: stop when all datasets have been exhausted
@@ -60,17 +60,18 @@ def __init__(
             weight_stages = weights
 
         # assert that steps are in sorted order and that the start index of each stage is a multiple of block_size
-        for i, (start_index, _) in enumerate(weight_stages):
+        for i, (start_seq_index, _) in enumerate(weight_stages):
             if i == 0:
-                assert start_index == 0
+                assert start_seq_index == 0
             else:
-                assert (
-                    start_index % block_size == 0
-                ), f"start_index for a stage must be a multiple of block_size, got {start_index=} and {block_size=}"
-                assert start_index > weight_stages[i - 1][0], f"Weights list must be sorted, got {weight_stages}"
+                assert start_seq_index % block_size == 0, (
+                    f"start_seq_index for a stage must be a multiple of block_size, got {start_seq_index=} and"
+                    f" {block_size=}"
+                )
+                assert start_seq_index > weight_stages[i - 1][0], f"Weights list must be sorted, got {weight_stages}"
 
         self.weight_stages = [
-            (start_index, self._normalize_weights(weights)) for start_index, weights in weight_stages
+            (start_seq_index, self._normalize_weights(weights)) for start_seq_index, weights in weight_stages
         ]
         self.datasets = {
             name: dataset
@@ -99,24 +100,33 @@ def __init__(
 
         self.stop_strategy = stop_strategy
 
-        # Compute counts and unpermuted_ids for each stage
-        self._counts_per_block_per_stage = []
-        self._counts_after_stage = []
-        self._unpermuted_ids_per_stage = []
+        # Initialize stage-related counts and IDs
+        (
+            self._counts_per_block_per_stage,
+            self._counts_after_stage,
+            self._unpermuted_ids_per_stage,
+        ) = self._initialize_stage_counts()
+
+    def _initialize_stage_counts(self):
+        counts_per_block_per_stage = []
+        counts_after_stage = []
+        unpermuted_ids_per_stage = []
 
         cumulative_counts = np.zeros(len(self.datasets), dtype=np.int32)
 
-        for stage_idx, (start_index, stage_weights) in enumerate(self.weight_stages):
-            counts_this_stage = self._compute_expected_counts_per_block(stage_weights, block_size)
-            self._counts_per_block_per_stage.append(counts_this_stage)
-            self._unpermuted_ids_per_stage.append(self._compute_unpermuted_ids(counts_this_stage))
+        for stage_idx, (start_seq_index, stage_weights) in enumerate(self.weight_stages):
+            counts_this_stage = self._compute_expected_counts_per_block(stage_weights, self.block_size)
+            counts_per_block_per_stage.append(counts_this_stage)
+            unpermuted_ids_per_stage.append(self._compute_unpermuted_ids(counts_this_stage))
 
             if stage_idx < len(self.weight_stages) - 1:
                 next_start = self.weight_stages[stage_idx + 1][0]
-                num_blocks_in_stage = (next_start - start_index) // block_size
+                num_blocks_in_stage = (next_start - start_seq_index) // self.block_size
                 stage_total_counts = counts_this_stage * num_blocks_in_stage
                 cumulative_counts += stage_total_counts
-                self._counts_after_stage.append(cumulative_counts.copy())
+                counts_after_stage.append(cumulative_counts.copy())
+
+        return counts_per_block_per_stage, counts_after_stage, unpermuted_ids_per_stage
 
     def _compute_expected_counts_per_block(self, weights: dict[str, float], block_size: int):
         _expected_values_per_block = np.zeros(len(self.datasets), dtype=np.int32)
@@ -217,8 +227,8 @@ async def get_batch(self, indices: Sequence[int]) -> Sequence[T]:
         assert len(indices) == len(blocks) == len(block_ids)
 
         for batch_index, (idx, block, block_id) in enumerate(zip(indices, blocks, block_ids)):
-            index_within_block = idx % self.block_size
-            id = block[index_within_block]
+            index_within_block = idx % self.block_size  # which element of the block to get
+            id = block[index_within_block]  # for this block, which dataset+base dataset offset
             dataset_id, dataset_index = self._index_into_dataset_for_id(id, block_id)
             batches_per_dataset[dataset_id].append(dataset_index)
             indices_in_final_batch[dataset_id].append(batch_index)
@@ -259,6 +269,9 @@ async def getitem_async(self, index: int) -> T:
         return await dataset.getitem_async(dataset_index)
 
     async def _remap_indices(self, ds, indices_into_ds):
+        """
+        Handles wrap around for datasets that have finite length
+        """
         if self.stop_strategy == StopStrategy.RESTART_STRATEGY:
             if ds.is_finite():
                 max_elem = max(indices_into_ds)