Jose Reyes ran like the wind yesterday. Then ran some more.
For two hours, I watched the Mets shortstop work, testing his surgically repaired right leg time and again during the strenuous workout. There were 90-foot dashes; explosive 10-yard sprints, on which Reyes would grab a tennis ball on one bounce; ground balls hit to his left and right; high choppers where he had to fly across the diamond; weight-lifting; dynamic stretching; core exercises and hitting.
Test after test, and each time Reyes came through with a huge smile.
That smile was all you had to see to know this was not the same Reyes who suffered through an injury-plagued season last year. In mid-October he had surgery to repair a torn right hamstring tendon.
Reyes is back in a big way, and confidently told The Post: “I’ll be ready in 2010. Be there, it’s going to be a show.”
That’s how good Reyes is feeling, and that’s how far he has progressed in this rehab and training, which is taking place at the Professional Athletic Performance Center in Garden City, 10 minutes from Reyes’ house.
Rob Panariello is the physical therapist/certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist working with Reyes to get him back to being the player he was before the shortstop was injured last season.
Panariello and his partner, Adam Elberg, work independently of the Mets, recommended by Reyes’ agent Peter Greenberg. They have a good relationship with the Mets’ medical people, including trainer Ray Ramirez, but the rehab and training is their deal, and this amazing indoor facility has all the bases covered.
Reyes has complete confidence in their work.
“They know what they are doing,” Reyes said. “Rob is my guy, he got me ready quick.”
Mets GM Omar Minaya watched Reyes work out last week and was thrilled. Executive VP David Howard was at yesterday’s session, and after watching Reyes blaze down the exact same kind of track that is used in Olympic races, noted, “Mets fans have forgotten how good he is.”
It’s easy to forget what you don’t see. After averaging 158 games each of the previous four seasons, Reyes played only 36 last season, and admitted he never really felt right after suffering what was first diagnosed as a calf injury in May. He scored 18 runs. The three previous seasons he averaged 118.
He wants to forget last year, too. He said he will go to spring training early, “before even the pitchers and catchers show up.”
Reyes started this rehab on crutches 14 weeks ago and has been working five days a week. The other day he ran 90 feet on the track in 3.53 seconds. On the ballfield, the average time to first for a lefty is 4.2 seconds. His running mechanics have changed for the better. He is flexing his right leg more, with his heel inching closer to his backside, making his stride faster and cleaner.
Reyes begins each workout by riding the stationary bike. Panariello then puts him through a series of passive stretches on a table. Then there are dynamic stretches before a series of 90-foot sprints, the 10-yard tennis ball drill, and weight-lifting drills, including a high-tech beauty in a machine called the velocity cage and a low-tech exercise, where he pounds a truck tire with a 10-pound sledge-hammer from both sides of the plate.
Reyes also hits in the batting cage, and was crushing the ball yesterday.
“I feel great,” Reyes said. “Last year I came back too quickly. Everything is in the past. I don’t want to think about it. Now there is no pain. That’s the key. There is nothing to worry about. Everything’s perfect.”
Said Panariello, “He’s 100 percent.”
Ex-Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, who works out at the facility, along with Nationals pitcher John Lannan, said, “Jose looks great. His explosiveness is there. He’s healthy, positive, he looks ready to go.”
Reyes said he hasn’t felt this good since last April. He’s at 198 pounds. He said he feels as fast as ever.
“I can do everything I did before on the field,” Reyes said. “I can’t wait to hit a triple.”
Reyes is the Mets’ engine. “People say when Jose Reyes goes, the team goes,” Reyes noted.
He smiled one more time and added confidently, “Jose Reyes is ready to go.”
kevin.kernan@nypost.com