Maybe run with books on our heads?

Something I've been feeling intuitively just got reinforced by a little training tip on my Runner's World calendar: If you keep your torso upright while running, your shoulders back, you'll engage your abs. And believe me, my abs need all the engaging they can get.

But it also reminds me of something I read once, advice from a coach to a young runner about when he or she got tired in high school cross-country races. "Lean back," the coach said, "like there is a big pillow behind you." What in effect happens is your posture straightens up instead of slouching forward. Somehow this helps with fatigue -- try it.

Age keeps pulling my shoulders forward, rounding me over. I look in the mirror and, when I feel like I'm pulling my shoulders back to an extreme, I'm actually just upright. Please tell me I'm not the only one experiencing this?