"Marshawn Lynch's fresh start began early Wednesday morning.

Real early.

He was on the receiving end of a 5 a.m. wake-up call, which meant Lynch was up six hours after he arrived at Sea-Tac airport on Tuesday night. By 10:45, he was on the field for the first practice with his new team just one day after the Seahawks gave up two future draft choices to acquire him from Buffalo.

"This change is a great opportunity for me, in football and just in life," Lynch said.

Lynch is 215 pounds with a well-earned reputation as a hard runner. His voice, however, was softer than you might expect as he introduced himself to Seattle after a practice that was a little more taxing than expected.

"I feel like I left my legs on the plane," Lynch said.

Now, he can catch his breath.

Wednesday's practice was the last of this week as players will get four days off with no game scheduled this weekend, returning to work on Monday to begin preparation to play at Chicago on Oct. 17.

By all indications from Wednesday's practice, Lynch will be hip-deep in the game plan for a team searching for any sort of spark in its rushing offense. It has been five years since Seattle had a 1,000-yard rusher, and nine regular-season games since a running back scored a rushing touchdown.

Lynch, 24, was a first-round pick from California in 2007, the No. 12 overall choice who has a nickname for the punishing style he runs with: beast mode.

"It's just a state of mind that I follow," Lynch said, "that basically I won't be denied and I'm just relentless."

Seattle entered this season preparing to run the football by committee with Justin Forsett, Julius Jones and Leon Washington.

Jones was cut to make room for Lynch, Washington has been used sparingly as a running back and while Lynch wasn't designated the starter right away, coach Pete Carroll made it clear that this is a back capable of carrying the load for a team."