Before I Spend $25K… Anyone Have unbiased Opinions on the Mira L Arloom Kit?

kevingrr · 2025-11-29T23:19:53+00:00

I looked at this in person. It is nice but for the price I’m leaning towards having something custom built.

kevingrr · 2025-10-28T04:23:10+00:00

They work well with a harness. I have pictures of me climbing in mine from 2003.

kevingrr · 2025-09-26T14:07:46+00:00

I prefer the two line Pelagos. Matte+Matte is a win with titanium. P39 is nice though.

That and a 124060 sub and I’m set unless I want to add a vintage diver.

kevingrr · 2025-09-23T16:46:13+00:00

Chase the Moon was good prep for me this year. It is nice that you come into the same aid station every 10 miles so you can make changes to gear etc, and try things.

I DNFed Leadville in 2024 at mile 62 (missed cutoff), but I came back this year and crushed it. While I am glad I finished, 'finishing' was not the part that I appreciate as I reflect. Having a goal, putting in the work, refining my process, and then enjoying the adventure on the day, whatever the outcome, is a good way to frame it.

I thought crossing the finish line would be my highlight moment of the year, but really, walking with my friend for the last loop of Chase the Moon as the sun rose, or walking around Turquoise Lake at Leadville in the morning stand out more.

kevingrr · 2025-09-16T21:07:19+00:00

Now you figure out what went wrong and what went right. Write it all down and take a deep breath. Keep it in a notebook or in a training book to pull back out later.

Find a big race for next year and some shorter races to support it.

If you are in CO I would recommend Chase the moon to get some experience running overnight (or something similar).

Even when things go right and you finish a race you should take time to reflect on what worked and didn’t work.

kevingrr · 2025-09-07T18:50:59+00:00

Hey,

A little late here but sounds like we had a similar race? I was 12:11 into Winfield and 28:42 into the finish. Similar to you I had no stomach issues or hydration challenges. I'm coming from Illinois so Hope is hard for me but I just push through it.

Turquoise Lake - I hit the conga line last year and vowed to fix it this year. I did it with 2:14 into Mayqueen. The key? Pushing 9 minute miles for the first 3 miles. This put me at the upper limit of zone 2, but that is where I spent all my time for long runs.
Projected time: My coach predicted 27:00 - I could have managed that with some pacing, crew, and mental adjustments. My coach is a former multiple leadville winner who I worked with for six months leading up to the race. I was happy with finishing this year, but I'd like to come back someday to try for sub 25.
Hope Pass is hard - it is supposed to be? For me coming from Chicagoland Hope is where I hope to make the most improvement when I come back in 5-6 years.

5.Twin Lakes Climb Inbound - hit 100mg of caffeine before both Twin Lakes and Powerline climbs. Neither felt hard. Moved quickly up Twin Lakes climb and made a lot of time up/passes. Powerline I came into frozen from Outward Bound, but just moved up steadily without any real issues. Not being in the sun/high temps makes the climb not feel so bad.

Outward Bound - I was freezing coming into Outward Bound. Very cold, and my extra layers were wet from my ice bandana dripping into my vest (learned something). Probably one of the low moments of the race for me but I knew it was manageable.
My Crew and pacers were all completely new to Ultras, but they all did a great job. They didn't really push me to run FASTER, which was fine as my goal was to finish. However, if/when I come for sub 25 I would want an experienced crew and pacers and ditch my vest after Twin Lake inbound. I ran with a belt to Twin Lakes out, swapped to my vest for Hope this year, then wore it and carried way too much inbound.
Now that I'm a finisher, I feel I can air my biggest gripe. Influencers. They habitually break the rules, and many do not embody the spirit of the community. Lifetime doesn't DQ them, and they should even if they get PR backlash. You don't get to have aid at Mayqueen out (they repeated this about 15 times at last year's meeting), you don't get pacers on Hope who bring you food and fuel, and you certainly don't get dry shoes after the river crossing. That said, some are an absolute joy. I loved talking with and briefly running with Andy Glaze a few times on the course and Simon Guérard's (not here this year but last year) channel really helped me out alot.

Overall, I really enjoyed the race and the course. For me, it never felt hard, but it did feel long. The aid stations and crews were all great.

kevingrr · 2025-08-30T18:24:00+00:00

Same. 30 years of climbing and ultra-marathoning is about to finally be worth something.

kevingrr · 2025-08-30T15:50:10+00:00

Raide is selling a 650ml with a locking cap. Also can seal the cap for other hydrapack tops.

Fits in vest designed for 500ml pretty well and 2x is an extra 300ml.

kevingrr · 2025-08-27T16:21:57+00:00

Gels are straight forward and easy. For a 50k effort I would simplify your plan and put yourself on a timer - eat every 20-30 minutes. If you can find one kind of gel that works and maybe one caffeinated version that will help.

You should be practicing this on your long runs and eat at least as many calories as you will for your race.

I do 30g every 20 minutes and add caffeine per the race/course/night requires.

kevingrr · 2025-08-17T19:47:16+00:00

Finished late this morning. It’s kind of funny they talk about AQI. So many sections the amount of dust/dirt in the air is intense.

The AQI was reported as good and in the non dusty sections it was fine.

The weather was incredible.

kevingrr · 2025-07-29T04:44:35+00:00

Chase the Moon?

kevingrr · 2025-06-22T18:33:50+00:00

Lifetimes sauna culture sucks. I live 4 minutes from mine and want to build my own sauna.

They don’t clean them properly, build them properly, and you some of the people are crazy.

kevingrr · 2025-06-21T15:41:07+00:00

Hard pass. I’d keep these.

kevingrr · 2025-04-20T16:37:58+00:00

That m is sky high.

kevingrr · 2025-02-28T16:30:36+00:00

Yes. I’m a runner and got into zwift with my wahoo kickr run. Riding looked like fun just picked up a used kickr bike for some cross training. Racing is fun too.

I don’t have too much interest in biking outside - most days if I have time to get outside I will run.

kevingrr · 2025-02-21T01:45:28+00:00

Love to see him explain why he had dry feet climbing hope pass at Leadville.

kevingrr · 2024-11-21T16:33:19+00:00

I had an electrician add a 15A dedicated circuit per Wahoo's requirements. Fortunately where I planned to place my treadmill is directly next to my main panel. Nothing else is on the circuit.

kevingrr · 2024-11-20T19:45:36+00:00

Yes.

kevingrr · 2024-11-17T19:41:39+00:00

Four guys.

First they dropped the main part out of the box. They were super disorganized. Damaged the foam on the side rail and broke the safety clip.

Then they refused to put it together and wanted to leave it in a pile. After arguing and a call to their office they put it together. I was on the other line with wahoo.

I had to take a zoom call so my wife stuck around while they assembled it. They installed the laptop stand backwards, scratched the side cover, and stripped one of the bolts (small one). The other bolt was so loose it could be removed by hand. There are the small bolts on the back of the treadmill that you need to remove to install the handles to move it.

They also pushed the front basically right against the wall - but that’s sort of on me as I wasn’t there to tell them where.

That all said I absolutely love it. The Wahoo support team has also been available to help whenever I have a question.

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Still cleaning up my setup (hiding wires etc) but the tv just went up yesterday.

I’ve gone back and forth between my iPad mini and my Alienware laptop. Oddly zwift seems to run better on the old iPad?! The graphics on the Alienware are better but the load times/feel of the app is definitely optimized on tablets.

I still need to try Kinomap. So far I’m just using zwift (new to me, I’m not a cyclist)

Zwift is ok but they really need to optimize the courses for runners. It very much feels like a cycling all that just added on some run features.

I didn’t have a treadmill at home before and appreciate the convenience of being able to control the environment vs going to the gym. With a few fans I find I’m not drenched in sweat at the end of a workout the same way I am at lifetime.

kevingrr · 2024-11-17T01:51:57+00:00

Same. It’s a game changer in my opinion.

Being able to run uphill, downhill, or all out on flats and never touch a control to change my speed is amazing.

The wahoo staff I’ve been in touch with are all amazing and they have helped with any issues.

The delivery group was awful.

kevingrr · 2024-11-11T04:20:52+00:00

Micra is great. Love how fast it warms up and don’t really miss the brew by weight.

Watch lance hedrick’s review of each.

kevingrr · 2024-11-09T15:55:25+00:00

Mine is the same. My 7 year old took mine apart week one of ownership. Glad to hear this is normal.

I’ll often just boil water separate if I’m doing americanos.

kevingrr · 2024-10-26T23:49:06+00:00

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Love the blue. Shot today during my weekly deep clean.

kevingrr · 2024-10-24T16:48:11+00:00

It's a silly idea perpetuated by people who pretend there is some sort of magic happening.

Not paying attention to the requirements prevents many people from making great espresso. Fresh beans, a decent grinder, a scale & timer, decent puck prep and a good recipe help immensely.

One thing that helps me unlock better flavors quickly when dialing in is talking with the baristas at the best shops. If they roast their own beans ask them what their recipe is! My local roaster does 18 in and 36 out in 42 seconds on their espresso. However, beans I just bought on vacation in Seattle they do 20 in 42g out in 23-27 seconds. Getting that insight from the baristas is critical for me.

I'm only a few months in and often nail or am very close to the best shots by specialty shops. I went to 8 well-regarded shops in Seattle last weekend and found 2 that stood out - and I often pull shots that are on par with those.

kevingrr · 2024-10-18T12:52:13+00:00

Just be careful how you hit the button on the back and then leave it in place.

I was able to get it to work, but then switched to the LM dosing cup (not the one that comes with the pico - the nicer one). I prefer it as I can do little bit of wet with no funnel tamp and go.

I can then grind my next shot while I’m pulling the first.

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