Hi Alan,
I was originally booked to fly direct. However, a small hurricane coming up the east coast threw a wrench into that plan. My flight was canceled and I was left with no choice but to connect through Atlanta. As you found out, Atlanta is awful to connect through. You almost always need to ride the monorail thing to switch terminals. I used to do a lot of business travel and I've traveled through Atlanta countless times.
My advice is to call your airline and arrange for wheelchair service ahead of time, especially since your connection is so tight. The service is excellent and it will guarantee that you get through the Atlanta airport as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Also, since you're 'wheelchair serviced' the airline will be able to identify where your are and that you're on your way since you're serviced by an attendent with a radio. So, even if you feel great, you might still want to go for the wheelchair ride anyway, just to cut yourself some slack in case things get tight.
The only thing is that I have to warn you . . . the Atlanta airport has these newfangled wheelchairs that are incredibly hard and uncomfortable with absolutely no shock absorption. Really weird. So, it might not be the smoothest ride. But, they'll get you there and everyone will move out of the way!
Best of Luck next week!
Jeanie