I'm 19 and I recently decided to join the Marine Corp, I am currently in the Delayed Entry Program (D.E.P). One of my requirements must meet at one of my Initial Strength Test (I.S.T)is I have to run a 1.5 mile in at least 13:00 minutes. Now before somebody post and says "that's easy" or "im out of shape" or anything like that just know that all I did in High School was power lifting. I am very muscular and was one of the strongest students in my state. I also competed out of state against the best in other states one was pretty successful. Now back to the subject at hand, I never worked on cardio and my running sucks bad. My fastest mile I ever ran was a 11:50 minutes which I know is terrible.

(1). So my question is can anyone with EXPERIENCE running track or just running in general give me tips to prepare me for the Marines ?

(2).I have a treadmill at home, what are some ways I can use that to its max potential ?

(3).When I run my lower leg muscles tighten and hurt right below my calf is that normal or is it something I need to have checked out ?

Please respond. Thanks in advance.