Stock Rod Limitations?

So what I'm getting is that I can rework the stock rods (as long as they aren't abused) and not really have to worry about them until I hit about 7000 rpm without too much problem? I'm working at a machine shop for a summer job, so hopefully I can do this minus the labor costs. It seems that the rods may not be as much of a problem area as I thought, then. I guess I'll rephrase my question; What are the areas that need the most attention at abot the 550 hp/6800 rpm range?

And yeah, I got all the parts when I was 15 so I wanted to see what mistakes I made and what I did right with it. (I'm 19 now)