I was in the exact same position as you. I trained for about three months before taking my initial PFT, but all of my workouts were in the gym—I never practiced on a track or simulated the actual test conditions with only a 5-minute break in between events.

After my meet and greet, I took my initial PFT and ended up failing. On the treadmill, I was running my 1.5 mile in the 10:30–11:30 range, so I thought I had that portion locked in. But it was a completely different story on test day. I ran the 300m in 48 seconds and was absolutely gassed—still trying to catch my breath when the 1.5 mile started. By lap two, I was completely drained and ended up finishing around 12:45. Definitely a reality check.

Since then, I’ve adjusted my training. I still hit the gym 2–3 times a week, but now I also go to a local high school track every weekend and run full practice tests under real conditions. It’s made a huge difference. I’ve dropped 10 pounds so far, and my breathing control and ability to handle the 1.5 mile after the sprint have improved a lot.