Running a mile in gym class...

Question
Towards the end of the school year, we have to run a mile in gym class under 8 minutes. I did it last time in about 7:56, but I got sick at the end. How can I train so that when it is time to run the mile, I won't get sick again this time? This year we get to listen to our iPods, and we didn't last year. What are good songs to listen to when running? If I do want to train, how many times should I run around my block to add up to a mile? Please help! Thank you so much!
~Sophie

Answer
Hi sophie
You should block out 4 days a week and just run easy for 35 minutes for 2 days and 1 day do 2min hard and 1 min easy after your warmed up for 20 min.4th day you want to warm up for 10 min easy running then push a hard pace for 15 minutes.I would do a test of the mile once a month to gage your progress and how you feel toward the end.Go to a local track which is 4 laps to a mile for your test.Songs that are good for running are anything that gets you really fired up and motivated.

Al the best

John