Well, unfortunately, there isn’t much to report this week. I have been practicing the OLL and PLL algorithms and my time is getting faster. What I am finding now is that I am overthinking my solves (again). This used to happen when I was only using the Beginner method and I would overthink an algorithm and end up mixing up the whole solve.
Now that I have new algorithms under my belt, sort of, I have found myself overthinking again. I know that I need to do OLL before PLL but if I get an unexpected case on the last layer, I get mixed up and sometimes mess up the whole solve.
On the plus side, with all the solving I am doing, I am getting more comfortable with the cube and when I mess up, I am usually able to go back and fix it without having to give up on the entire solve. My solving average is under 1:30 now, even if I have to fix something.
The best thing that happened this week was that I FINALLY solved a cube faster than my brother. I know that is really petty (we’re both in our 40s) but he is a super smart tech guy and has been solving cubes for a lot longer than I have. I felt really good about getting a faster time than him when he came to visit this weekend! I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I can beat my son though. He has been practicing with me and is able to solve the cube consistently in 8-12 seconds. I’m still trying to solve in under a minute.
So, progress is still being made… I will post a video next week to show some of the new algorithms I have been using.
Ha! My brother is almost 50 and we still compete in silly ways as well. Sounds like you are making good progress and you have identified what you need to do to keep progressing. I am looking forward to seeing an action video! I have a question, when you compete with someone, do you start at the same start place? I don’t know what its called, but the same turns etc off of ‘zero’?
Hi Crystal, One of my favourite parts of the competition world of speedcubing is that you are really competing against yourself. When you are competing in a round, the first thing you do is put your cube into a container to go to the scrambling table. Everyone gets the same scramble and then you solve your cube when you are ready. Each person has a timer on their table (think repurposed speed stacking timers) which tracks their solve time and then the time is recorded on your time sheet. Only after all the time sheets have been collected and entered into the website, do you know how you did compared to other competitors. It makes for a very friendly and supportive environment!