Originally Posted by cwatters
I'm perhaps not the best person to comment (being only a lapsed glider pilot) but nobody else as so...
My first thought was why did you allow the plane to dictate your speed? Perhaps it's different in a jet but in a glider you select a speed based on the aircraft type (eg it's recommended landing speed) and add an allowance for wind shear.
Large aircraft have a lower recommended airspeed for landing the lighter they are. Small aircraft can get away with a one-speed-suits-all type approach, but that doesn't work on a larger scale.