Am I missing out?
Should I learn how to do strides? Has anyone noticed any benefit from doing them?
I'm now following his 5k/10k plan from the 3rd edition and strides are mentioned constantly. I'm 3 weeks into phase 2 after 12 weeks of 50mpw base building. Trying to improve 5k/10k from 18min/36min.
Following his marathon plan I went from 3:42 to 3:08 (12 weeks of plan A) and then down to 2:59 (with another 24 weeks of plan A). Didn't do any strides.
In terms of speed, strides are hugely important. They help leg turnover.They're an easy way to keep your legs feeling spry. Daniels has enough intervals that you'll still improve your speed even if you don't do strides, but the strides will help your legs handle workouts and recovery better.
If you're on another plan or in a base period strides may end up being a huge part of your entire speed training.
I follow Daniels a lot and don't do the strides every cycle. It honestly depends on where I do my workout or if I have time. I have a lot of natural speed and have always been a good kicker, but I do notice the easy of turnover in workouts during phases I do them. I have always felt like strides are good maintenance of speed but if you don't do them and haven't, it probably isn't gonna change your world.
FWIW, my preference is built in strides on long runs. I will usually do eight or ten 20 second build ups during the last 15-20 minutes of my run. I do them on the 2 minute intervals, so 20 seconds fast, 1:40 normal pace. I notice it helps with my strength late in races so my kick is noticeably longer, if not faster.
They help efficiency and turnover. I always enjoyed doing them. Also, you don't have to set aside dedicated "strides sessions." You can just work them into your easy runs. Slow down to a jog, or even a walk, stride the next part of the run, repeat.