When you’re training for a marathon, it’s crucial that you do all of the scheduled workouts. Consistent training is key to improving your running and being able to handle all 26.2 miles come race day. If you find you’re not hitting your workouts week after week, you may want to reevaluate whether running a marathon is really for you.

Sometimes inconsistencies in your training are unavoidable, due to work, illness or other obligations. Just remember that if you miss some workouts, you’ll need to adjust your mileage downward rather than just jumping back in. If you don’t, your body might not be able to handle the sudden increase in miles and you’ll end up injured.

For example, say a business trip causes you to miss your 15-mile long run, plus another workout or two during the week. Now you’re back home, with a 16-miler on the calendar. Don’t do it. Instead, tally up the number of miles you ran the previous week and don’t run any more than 10 percent farther this week. If that means your long run will have to be limited to just 10 miles, so be it.