I’ve learned a couple things over the course of the past week. 1) Running through mid-Market is quite a different experience than running along Ocean Beach. 2) It is possible to find high quality work out gear for a lot less than you’d think.

I’ve been wearing Nike and Under Armour almost daily for years, without nearly any signs of wear. But, it’s expensive as we’ve discussed. I wanted to flirt with inexpensive brands like Target, Old Navy and Gap. What I found, though, is that it’s pretty easy to find discounted Nike and Under Armour pieces online for about the same cost as Old Navy. With free shipping too. No, really.

A friend suggested finding things I liked, and then scouring Amazon and other sites for past years versions of it. That ended up being just the answer I needed.

1. Under Armour Fly-By long sleeve shirts — Amazon, $30/$35

Amazon prices things differently by color (aka popularity), which can be a discount boon for you if you don’t really care what color you get. This shirt is from last year, but Amazon still has tons in stock. Here, the black is $30 but white is $38. I went with black and yellow.

Size up for a looser fit. Also, heads up, the side and back are transparent, so heee-eeey! I’m totally That Mom at preschool drop off these days.

2. Nike Legend 2.0 Dri-Fit Leggings in Obsidian — 6pm, $54

It was a major revelation that 6pm carries work out clothes, at huge discounts. Shipping is also free if you spend over $50, and these pants arrived before some of my Amazon Prime purchases. (I could have gotten Nike running leggings for cheaper — 6pm has some for $35 — but I really wanted navy.)

3. Nike Victory Compression Sports Bra — Amazon, $25

I’d read great reviews of the Nike Victory sports bra, and this was another case of saving money by picking the least popular color. Black, coral, and yellow were $35. Teal polka dot was $25. Teal polka dots it is! (I’m not usually prone to wearing anything teal nor anything with polka dots. But, it is kinda fun.)

4. Brooks Pureflow 5 — Zappos, $90

This shoe bucks the trend — past year versions are actually more popular and harder to find, so they’re $30+ more expensive than the current version. I bought the current model, because you can’t skimp on shoes (life motto). Wearing Brooks solved my knee problems, and all other brands feel like floppy slippers now. I figured it was more important that I have functioning knees than save on discounted shoes elsewhere.

More reading:

How to become a jogger, if you’ve never jogged

Cheap & chic kids clothes picks

A hike under the Golden Gate Bridge