Congrats on the ld!

Just wondering why I am so bad at taking the time to ground myself, perhaps I'm not doing reality checks slow enough
Can you describe what you did before the dream ended? Sometimes, when I am not expecting an ld and subsequnently get lucid, I don't have a goal and I pretty much spend the time being completely idle in the dream. This usually leads to a premature end. It's best to have a goal of something to do, but if you don't recall any task, just remember to be as involved as possible in the dream. Examine the environment, touch the nearest objects, etc.

Great observations on sleep and recall by the way. Looks like you were in the zone the last few weeks! Keep it up!