Weekly competition 2009-48

[SaberSlash49]

I'm okay at 3x3, still bad with 2x2, and okay-bad at Pyraminx, although I only did 3x3.

1. 37.78
2. 38.42
3. 47.10
4. 37.46
5. 47.14

Average: 41.10

The two 47s were me trying out new algorithms, and failed horribly. An OK average, I can do much better than that (okay, maybe only like 5 seconds).

 

[ManasijV]

3x3: 14.25, 12.36, 13.13, 13.70, 14.39
13.69
Pretty good. I think some scrambles were easy. 12.36 was good

 

[mazei]

Just felt like posting up my FMC solution(which is really embarrassing).

46 moves...ugh

Scramble: U B2 F2 R2 U B2 U L2 U' L2 F2 R' D U' B U2 R U' F L2 U2
Solution: U' R' D2 F U2 B' R B R2 L2 F' R' F L2 R' B R D R' D U R B R2 B' U' B2 U' B U2 R' U' L B L' B' R B2 L B R' B L' B' R B

I suck...

EDIT
2x2x2 block: U' R' D2 F U2(5:5)
3x2x2 block: . R B R D R' D(6:11)
Triple X-cross: U R B R2 B' U'(6:17)
F2L: B2 U' B U2 R' U'(6:23)
COLL: L B L' B' R B2 L B R' B L' B' R(13:36)
AUF: B(1:37)
Insert B' R B R2 L2 F' R' F L2 R2(10 move commutator) at ., 1 move cancelled.

 

[Micael]

3x3x3 multiBLD: 7/11 = 3 points, 60:00.00 [37:01]
Comment: Bad. I ran out of time trying to figure out where I memorized wrong on the third cube, but I was almost out of time anyway. Memo was a little quicker than usual, but I paid for it with some memory pauses. The mistakes were small, though - fifth and seventh cubes had the same mistake with my twisting the same two pieces the same wrong direction, eighth cube was off by parity because I continued past a broken-into cycle for an extra piece, and I didn't notice the parity discrepancy, and third cube was also off by parity because of mismemorization. Very disappointing - no matter what I try, it always takes a full hour for me to do 11 cubes.

Did you take some recovery from memorization days before? When I train a lot, I have hard time with memorization (just like physical trainning). As an athlete, I am used to do a "taper" before a performance. So I do before the weekly competition or before attempt for PB. Tapering certainly apply for memorization, based on my own experience with it. Obviously, I do not memorize anything during the day of the important attempt. Is this makes sense for you?

 

[Carrot]

Pyraminx:
5.04, 4.26, (5.36), 4.31, (3.04) => 4.54
I started out very bad... but it ended okay =)

Fast?
Preety fast!
Wanna watch some of Your pyraminx Vids
(edit: Just saw your 4.04 avg. Nice )

thanks lol.. I'm only disappointed because I was consistently sub 3.5 for like 20-30 solves and then I went doing some physical training xD... and when I came back I tried do some warm up.. it was okay, around 4... and the out of nowhere those 5+ came into the picture when doing Weekly >.<

my normal average is around 4-4.5 just not in competition O___o I alway get so sweaty that I have to do slowturning :fp

 

[Mike Hughey]

Did you take some recovery from memorization days before? When I train a lot, I have hard time with memorization (just like physical trainning). As an athlete, I am used to do a "taper" before a performance. So I do before the weekly competition or before attempt for PB. Tapering certainly apply for memorization, based on my own experience with it. Obviously, I do not memorize anything during the day of the important attempt. Is this makes sense for you?

I guess it's possible that's my problem. I never taper. I did the 6x6x6 BLD about 12 hours before this attempt. And I did the 7x7x7 BLD attempt (off by 3 outer wings) the day before that. With my schedule of keeping up with all the solves in the weekly competition, I pretty much never go a day without solving at least a 4x4x4 BLD.

I work very hard to cycle my rooms, so that I never use the same room twice on the same day. (Well, almost never - occasionally I need more than 16 rooms on a given day, but that's rare.) But I never go more than a few days before reusing a room.

I suppose it would be interesting to see what I could do with multi if I took a week break before trying one - it would probably be very different for me.

But I admit I love the challenge of doing all these attempts so close together. It's my "thing".

 

[cmhardw]

Did you take some recovery from memorization days before? When I train a lot, I have hard time with memorization (just like physical trainning). As an athlete, I am used to do a "taper" before a performance.
...

I guess it's possible that's my problem. I never taper.

Mike do you taper before competitions? I rest my competition journeys minimum 3 months before a competition, and for something big like a World Competition or Nationals minimum 6 months. I also taper my solving itself a bit, but I find resting the journey you will use in competition for a long time helps.

John Louis told me that he once created a journey a full year before he would use it in competition. His first actual use of the journey was one year later in the competition. I'm thinking about using this exact same strategy for the journeys I will use in Worlds 2011.

Chris

 

[Mike Hughey]

I really don't. I know you mentioned before that John Louis did that, and I think I remember someone (maybe you) saying that Ben Pridmore rested his for 6 months before using it in competition. I guess I've never really given it a chance, but I find it hard to believe that such a long rest can really help all that much. I'm more concerned that lack of familiarity might hurt rather than help.

For all these competitions I've been going to, I've generally rested the rooms I'm using for no more than 3 days, and sometimes just a single day. Do you think I'm really hurting myself all that much by doing that?

For what I consider to be my most thrilling experience ever with BLD in competition - the Virginia Open 2008 - I had done 6 5x5x5 BLD attempts (using up almost all of my rooms) the day before the competition. In those attempts I used all of the rooms that I would use the next day in the competition. And yet despite all that use, I was only 2 minutes or so away from the WR, and I got both 5x5x5 BLD solves successful in a single competition, putting me in an exclusive club with you and István.

There are certain rooms that I prefer, because I seem to get better results with them. Also, some rooms are more suited to a given cube than others. For me, rooms 1-2, 9-10, and 11-12 are the best for 5x5x5 BLD; 13-15 is best for 6x6x6 BLD; 1-5 are best for 7x7x7 BLD; and 6, 9, and 10 are best for 4x4x4 BLD. I don't know why - they just are.

Anyway, I do often feel I'm not really properly prepared for multis when I try them. Since I don't care about them quite as much as the big cubes, I tend to be more likely to do them when I'm too tired and not too fresh than I am for the big cubes.

As for creating a journey a year in advance and then not using it for a whole year beforehand, I must admit that scares me. I find that my rooms usually seem to get better with repeated use, not worse. My best rooms are the ones I use more often.

 

[Micael]

Since I don't care about them quite as much as the big cubes, I tend to be more likely to do them when I'm too tired and not too fresh than I am for the big cubes.

It should explain, at least partially. I can do 2-3 nice performance a week that involve staminia (> 10 cubes ), but not more. 16 rooms only!!! I have 20, but I can't wait to have > 30 so that I can train more and do things like Ryosuke (insanely huge attempt). I should agree with you on that pushing memory with back to back attempts or with fatigue is great for improvement.

Chris, 3 months sound extremely long to me. However, you have amazing results. Do you at least vizualize them (those journey) during those months? By the way, what do you wait for getting into multi? Don't you want another world record?

 

[Lumej]

Lumej
2x2BLD: 3:51.65, DNF (2:22.41), DNF (5:47.54)
After trying 3x3BLD again I thought I could try 2x2 as well since it's a nice practise for corner memo.The only mistake I did on the second AND the third cube was that I forgot to undo the setup-move... both were off by R2... how stupid can I be?

Yipiieh, I have more than 100 points in the overall results =)

 

[James Ludlow]

jamesdeanludlow

Megaminx 3:24.68 3:30.58 3:18.74 3:30.01 3:45.55 3:28.42avg

 

[SimonWestlund]

Hm.. I didn't have time to enter in a lot this week, oh well. Second is not too bad

 

[iSpinz]

3x3

Average: 33.78
1. (26.66)
2. 32.73
3. (37.08)
4. 36.91
5. 31.70

 

[cmhardw]

I really don't. I know you mentioned before that John Louis did that, and I think I remember someone (maybe you) saying that Ben Pridmore rested his for 6 months before using it in competition. I guess I've never really given it a chance, but I find it hard to believe that such a long rest can really help all that much. I'm more concerned that lack of familiarity might hurt rather than help.

Hey Mike,

I guess it will depend on the person, especially after you had done so well at Virginia having used those journeys so recently! At Chattahoochee 2009 I had rested my 4x4x4 BLD journey for 5 months (I hadn't used it since Decatur 2008, which was my most recent competition previous).

For me the stickiness factor on a rested journey is tremendous. If you look at my 3x3x3 BLD times in official competition compared to the in the forum competitions, you will see the biggest difference. I only use my competition 3x3x3 journeys in competition (hur!), so they are always rested since the last competition. The journeys I use in the forum are my practice journeys, and it's very likely that I would have used the same locations earlier that day or the previous day.

To cut a long story short, I need significantly less review on an extremely well rested journey, compared to one that I have used very recently.

Chris, 3 months sound extremely long to me. However, you have amazing results. Do you at least vizualize them (those journey) during those months? By the way, what do you wait for getting into multi? Don't you want another world record?

3 months for me is actually only a short time, I prefer closer to 6 months To answer your question though, yes I do visualize the journey itself frequently. It is part of my practice whenever I rehearse my images - I also rehearse any journeys I am resting. By rehearse I simply mean imagining each location, and also remembering which piece type goes in that location (my locations are piece specific).

As for multi, I almost feel bad to admit this seeing as how so many people are so passionate about it, but it just does not interest me to the same degree that single BLD does. I'm sure part of it also has to do with the fact that BH edges is not exactly the best bet for 3x3x3 edges right now. Daniel is working on some new awesome stuff to fix this actually! However, as it stands now BH edges is not a top tier method for 3x3x3. BH corners I would argue are difficult to be beaten by even freestyle (though I'm sure Haiyan would smash both Daniel and I in a 3x3x3 corner BLD heads up race).

I would much rather spend my time memorizing a 5x5x5 than four 3x3x3's for a multi (which would be almost exactly identical in terms of memorization amount for me). I don't know why, the thrill of solving a 5x5x5 is much more intense for me than the thrill of completing a multi attempt. I can't explain why, I wish I could.

Chris

 

[Cyrus C.]

Darn, I wanted top 10 overall.

 

[Mike Hughey]

I would much rather spend my time memorizing a 5x5x5 than four 3x3x3's for a multi (which would be almost exactly identical in terms of memorization amount for me). I don't know why, the thrill of solving a 5x5x5 is much more intense for me than the thrill of completing a multi attempt. I can't explain why, I wish I could.

Exactly how I feel. Especially the "I can't explain why" part.

 

[cmhardw]

I would much rather spend my time memorizing a 5x5x5 than four 3x3x3's for a multi (which would be almost exactly identical in terms of memorization amount for me). I don't know why, the thrill of solving a 5x5x5 is much more intense for me than the thrill of completing a multi attempt. I can't explain why, I wish I could.

Exactly how I feel. Especially the "I can't explain why" part.

You know though... This does give me an idea. The people who can sub-10 four 3x3x3 multi BLD are essentially sub-10 solving a 5x5x5 (at least as a comparison of memory feat). Perhaps if I can figure out how to sub-10 a four cube multi, then it might give me some insight into how to achieve my first sub-10 5x5x5 single BLD.

Micael, in a somewhat roundabout way I think you have actually convinced me to give 3x3x3 multi a really legitimate attempt (four cube multi that is), and see what I am capable of.

I'll post the results of my attempt (probably tomorrow) in the appropriate success or failures thread

Chris

 

[Escher]

Rowan:

2x2
2.85, 2.82, (2.35), 2.67, (3.98) = 2.78
CLL, CLL, (OLL skip), EG1, CLL fail

3x3
11.45, 14.39, (15.02), (10.23), 11.36 = 12.40
No skips... nice and consistent

 

[Jude]

4x4x4 BLD: DNF (36:xx:xx (18:xx.xx))
Lol that was the most ridiculous BLD attempt ever. I filmed it so I could watch to see if I made any mistakes, and on review it turned out at one point centres were correct. During Edge execution I performed algorithms wrong over 5 times, and each time tried to work out what I just did, then do it backwards. I was 99% sure I'd made a mistake but I kept going just in case. I did 3 moves by accident at one point (something like U' B' R') and spent literally almost 5 minutes trying to work out what 3 moves I had just done, before trying to undo them. Anyway, 12 centres, 4 corners and 5 edges were correct. At least I know where I went wrong!

 

[cmhardw]

4x4x4 BLD: DNF (36:xx:xx (18:xx.xx))
Lol that was the most ridiculous BLD attempt ever. I filmed it so I could watch to see if I made any mistakes, and on review it turned out at one point centres were correct. During Edge execution I performed algorithms wrong over 5 times, and each time tried to work out what I just did, then do it backwards. I was 99% sure I'd made a mistake but I kept going just in case. I did 3 moves by accident at one point (something like U' B' R') and spent literally almost 5 minutes trying to work out what 3 moves I had just done, before trying to undo them. Anyway, 12 centres, 4 corners and 5 edges were correct. At least I know where I went wrong!

No worries Jude, remember that for BLD any practice is good practice! That's great that you had the video so that you know where you went wrong. Often I have no idea what I did wrong on a solve, only in which piece type I messed up.

Also I know what you mean about sitting there for a long period to figure out which turn. The worst for me is times when you turn the D layer with your ring finger, and you're not quite sure if you also pulled the inner d layer as well. So you have to sit there and try to remember the feeling on your ring finger, and other fingers, and decode if you think the inner layer was also turned on accident. I know exactly what you mean!

Keep up the good practice! Big cube BLD is very similar to muscle training. You have to train yourself to failure multiple times before your limits begin to improve and suddenly everything you're doing feels a lot easier than it did before.

Good luck on your future attempts!

Chris