Typically, people become lucid before they wake up because they are closest to consciousness and the conscious mind is waking up. Since logic and reason are mostly controlled by the conscious mind, it's easier to tell if something irrational is going on.

That's where reality checks and techniques like WILD and WBTB come into play. It's about training yourself to always question whether or not something is really happening so that when you begin dreaming, you'll be able to tell that something is out of place. It's not uncommon to wake up and my LDs are usually very short, but just keep working at it and like anything else you will improve. I have faith in you.

Hope this helped.

-Amé