Yeah, me too. I guess I should have really learned the physics of this game beforehand, instead of jumping right into it.
EDIT: I made a reasonably optimised first level, bet NxCy's run beat it by 8 frames. This was largely due to the fact that he manipulated the red koopas, so he could jump on them to get further in the level. I used a shell to get there, which is definitely a slower method.
Oh, it was due to the camera movement, the koopas come into view faster, and then he is able to jump off them. I knew there must have been a reason for that. Still, I think using a shell is a pretty snazzy move:
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/395434046/andymac%2BSolonTSRPR.smv
Also this is probably already known, but if you spaz a and b on a music block, you don't lose any speed.
Also I will be away for five days, so don't expect a high rate of productivity during that period.
EDIT2: One more thing, I found that when you initiate the hopping glitch while doing 6/5, you can initiate 6/6 where 8 out of 6 speeds are 49, 2 are 47 and two are 48. This only works a few times though before you run out of running speed.