Planned the course to have a part of each leg that was easy running/navigation. This was to be used to plan the entry and exit into the control, route, compass, what I would see.
Mostly pretty good (not that I was moving race speed) But still not smooth in the circle definitely dithering the closer I get and being less certain in the circle. For example on 8 I knew exactly where to come off the path the boulder on the left and spur ending on my right then a wide reentrant to contour round and then between the open hills but I faltered as I went between the hills, how far along was the reentrant and how high above me is it? Not sure how to make sure I get that detail in my plan at the moment.
I like this type of training, you had a really clear goal for the session. This is all a about practice, practice, practice with a little confidence on the side. Keep working hard on building up these mental pictures, if you do this regularly these pictures will get stronger and stronger in your mind allowing you to be more accurate, smoother, and faster through the controls. Perhaps this type of mental imagery of the terrain around the control works better in the early stages if you build up the picture of your control entry closer to the control and by allowing yourself time to read the detail on the map to 100%- Slow down!It could be hard to maintain a clear picture further out from the control as well be disciplined enough to make it 100%, not just 85-90% clear, in testing terrain it has to be 100% accurate, no less. Remember you are aiming for perfection, you are not going to accept even 3-5 second mistakes, you want to enjoy the feeling of being in total control technically and being fast and smooth through the course. You're on your way, keep it going!