I spent a lot of time working out. What I don’t spend a lot of (any?) time doing is shopping for workout clothes.

I have two pairs of workout shorts, both of which I’ve owned for over 10 years. And I rotate through the same handful of gym shirts, all beat up old t-shirts I’ve gotten for free at some point. (This is all except for the one proper workout shirt I have, a gift from my lovely older sister after reading one of my earlier gripes on this blog).

But perhaps nothing is sorry than the sneakers I have worked out in for the last two years. After a workout session with a trainer, he pointed out I had wide feet and that the Nike Free sneakers I was wearing weren’t a good choice. So I ordered a pair of wide-width Saucony Kinvaras. The difference was immediately apparent, and were much more comfortable. I wore them religiously each time I worked out, 5 times a week, every week, for two years. A few months back I went back to Zappos to get a new pair, only to find out this particular sneaker is now discontinued. So I continued to wear my old pair.

Two years of punishment takes its toll.

Two years of punishment takes its toll.

Things got pretty bad. They started to tear in multiple places. My wife referred to them as my “hobo shoes.” So I finally broke down and decided to get new sneakers.

Where My New Kicks At?

I needed to find a new pair of wide width sneakers. When you look for sneakers on Zappos you will find 7884 items under “Men Sneakers & Athletic Shoes.” If you click E for Width, it drops to 208 items. Under the “Performance” filter, you can then click Crosstraining and Running, which results in…2 pairs of sneakers. There is literally one pair of Crosstraining sneakers: inov-8 F-Lite 195. I had never even heard of this brand, so I did some research online.

It turns out the F-Lite 195 is designed specifically for performance training, and for that reason, are popular in the Crossfit community. So I decided to give them a try.

My new gym sneakers.

My new gym sneakers.

Three weeks into wearing them, I’m happy to report they’re great. They look sharp, and are perfect for working out. Of course, I’m probably wear these until they fall apart, at which point they’ll have been discontinued, and I’ll have to start all over.

Maybe I should just embrace this behavior, buy like 5 pairs, and be set for the next decade.

(It occurred to me after writing this that it sounds like a commercial. I, unfortunately, have no financial interest here, and am just sharing my happiness about these new sneakers).