That sounds like a good approach

If I were to guess, the multitudes you refer to are composed almost entirely of the genetically skinny members of the Tribe of the Magical Tapeworm. Body types haven't been touched on yet in this thread. I think those of us with more dominant Neanderthal genes and correspondingly larger frames have a different calculus. I'd guess--and I'm guessing, as Medline searches have yielded nothing useful--that bigger framed endurance athletes benefit more from focused and specific strength training than smaller framed athletes. Focused and specific, meaning lower body and core with not a whole lot of upper body stuff for those who tend to bulk up easily. At least, that's my experiment for this season.

Particularly for larger athletes, developing power/weight ratio implies developing power, as healthy weight loss can only get you so far.

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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Push ups
Sit ups
Pull ups
Squats
Dead Lifts
Leg Press
Bench Press


Cardio when not running, biking, swimming,

Stair Stepper or Row Machine

Dammit, I patented that workout regimen. I'm coming after you

In humor we can look at this from a gym rat's (I'm one) point of view. One that a lot of you probably heard before. We used to joke as an excuse to not do cardio of any sort by saying, "If you get big enough, you don't have to run from anyone." It was a humorous thing for most of us to say because we realized that the deeper we went into to competitive strength training, lifting and bodybuilding the slower we got. Another way I use it in humor is, "I am highly trained to go slow." :-) Lot's of practice down at the opposite end of the force/velocity curve. :-)

I disagree with those claiming strength training is wasted time. I can't think of any negatives.
Squats, dead lifts, glute ham raises are the foundation for any program. I'm a believer that they should be done heavy. I weigh 130lbs, so I'll work to 6 heavy triples in squat and dead lift at 175lbs. Build some bone, increase tendon density, release some testosterone, breaks up the stale feeling associated with high volume aerobic work. Plyos would be nice but thats a whole other topic. I read some articles about Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake's strength program. For every quad exercise done they do 3 complementary hamstring exercises. Everyone could benefit from a stronger posterior chain. I've had 4 femoral stress fractures in the past 3 years. Since I've started really committing to strength work my running has been better than ever and zero pain/injuries. Better than it was when I was in 14:20 5k shape. Can't say I notice a huge difference in swimming or cycling performance. Most of the time my strength routine will take 40 minutes. If you're worried about weight, I wouldn't be. Any weight you'll put on will be functional muscle. Plus with all the aerobic work being done you'd have to put up Michael Phelps numbers calorically to "bulk" up. Just my 2 pennies.

Not necessarily a waste of time but inefficient when training for a 8-17hr effort. Usain bolt doesn't run marathon

Increased strength=increased efficiency. Over 8-17 hours that matters. Also getting to the start line healthy does too.