The green Cannondale was never blue when it belonged to the owner. He bought it stripped so fair enough, it's not exactly like he painted over the nice factory blue.*
The thing with Time ATAC cleats, is you need to have the cleat pretty much perfectly straight in the pedal when you pull up to skid. Loads of lateral float.
Obviously the more worn the cleat the more you need to concentrate on keeping your foot straight.
52cm. That is pretty wide for a road bike.