I have always understood that the best way to increase your speed was to do fartleks, but that might be if you are going from a really slow speed (10 minute mile) to a faster speed (say 8 min). Maybe it is just me, but I always run 30 to 40 seconds faster when I run in a group. You might do better than you think when you do your PT test.

When the 1.5 mile PT tests come around I know I can run faster than a 7 min mile. In fact for the PAST I ran the 1.5 in 9:50...wouldn't that be a 6.3 min/mile? I just can't maintain that fast for a long run.

Well, just a testament to some value in a treadmill I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I did a diagnostic PT test for 2 miles on myself. Now nobody laugh at the times on these runs I had a major injury to my ankle three months back and am slowly recovering but on the treadmill my 2 mile has been 19:03 running at a speed where I'm giving it all I can without falling off the damn thing and a 1 percent incline but then yesterday I ran outside and ran it in 17:55. I was really surprised. Since I'm deployed most of my work is indoors because the only place to run is the APFT course and that is packed all day long. So, who knows. Yeah, a week after my injury I was running it in 25:00. Yeesh.