Reading Half Marathon

After a solid Thames Towpath 20 miler, this would be a test of transferring my distance training into a quicker half marathon on a fast but testing course in Reading.
The target was to try and hold a 6 min 30 per mile pace, though the slightly hilly nature meant my splits were pretty up and down.
After the disasterous starts I've had in major races before, I was determined to settle into a rhythm, and felt surprisingly comfortable at 6:15 pace, which I knew would get me a massive pb.
The 38:45 10km split and 63:00 10 mile split was pleasing, though mile 7 through the city and 8 back up towards the university knocked the stuffing out of me. I rallied between 10 and 11, keeping my pace at 6:20, though found the final 2 miles along the dual carriage way and into a headwind tough.
Final time of 1 hr 24 mins 14 seconds was a massive pb by nearly 3 minutes, so am obviously delighted. I'm sure I can go faster though, it's not inconceivable to hold 6 minute mile pace, so that is a target going forward.