When you begin to feel winded, tell yourself, “I can survive the PACER test. I will not quit. ”

If you think of the test as a race, you’ll push yourself too hard in the beginning. This may leave you too tired to actually finish. As the name implies, you have to pace yourself.

Make sure you get to the line before the beep, however!

Try practicing breathing like this before you start running. Do it while standing. Once you get the hang on it, try doing it while walking, then jogging, then running.

When you reach the opposite side, stop immediately and turn on the ball of your foot so you’re ready for the next beep. Some people like to alternate the foot they use to step on (or just over) the end-line. This can keep your mind occupied and enhance your focus during the test.

Remember, if you’ve not arrived at the opposite side and the second single beep sounds, you’ll need to return to where you started from.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, try doing some meditation or drinking an herbal tea, such as chamomile. Avoid using electronics at least 1 hour before bedtime. The bright screen will indicate to your brain that it’s time to wake up, which’ll prevent you from sleeping.

Keep your meal fewer than 500 calories.

Depending on which PACER test audio track you’re listening to, you also might be told to warm up at regular intervals during the test. Take advantage of these opportunities to warm up. Even if you’re participating in a PACER test with audio that doesn’t encourage you to warm up between runs, do so anyways.

After the test, grab a drink of water immediately.

Ride your bike instead of driving. Walk to school instead of taking the bus. Do something active at lunch rather than sitting. Start up an extracurricular activity, such as ping pong, tennis, dancing, or martial arts.

Make healthy protein sources like beans, soy, seitan, and nuts about 20 percent of your caloric intake. Avoid fried foods, soda, candies, sweet juices, and other junk food. The number of calories you need depends on your sex, age, weight, and height. Consult your gym coach and/or a trained dietitian for more information about how you can adjust your diet in order to survive the PACER test.

As a general rule, you’ll likely need to do 4 to 6 training sessions per week, each lasting around 1 hour. Talk to your gym teacher to discuss how you can train specifically to survive the PACER test.

If you aren’t used to doing such long runs, build your way up to them slowly. Start out with a 1⁄2 mi (0. 80 km) run, then move onto a 1 mile (1. 6 km) run, and so forth.

Repeat sprints will help you power through the more intense portions of the PACER test.